O3193: Pediatric Preparedness for the Healthcare Professional

Background: In 2019, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness & Response (ASPR) funded two Pediatric Disaster Centers of Excellence (COE) and in October 2022, awarded a third, the G7-Pediatric Disaster Network (G7). This consortium of experts is led by Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine (TCH/BCM) and spans across the Gulf Coast, from Texas to Florida, including Puerto Rico, uniting top regional institutions with years of experience across the continuum of care.

Through an activity outlined in the funding announcement, subject matter experts developed the plan to create a new pediatric disaster preparedness course for healthcare professionals through a partnership with internationally recognized leaders in emergency response training, Texas A&M Engineering & Extension Services (TEEX).

Methods: Instructional design began with the identification of our learners and gaps. Given pediatric healthcare professionals recent navigation of not only a global pandemic but also a pediatric respiratory surge, we knew that this topic would have immediate relevance and impact for healthcare professionals who have the potential to take care of pediatric patients, in line with Knowles’ Principle of Andragogy.

Further design required the creation of an overarching goal for the course and then individual goals and objectives for each module of content (Figure 1). While the total course time was prescribed, the agenda for the course was based on the learning objectives. While content is the foundation of this course, activities and case studies have been intentionally included in order to create a problem-centered rather than a content-oriented experience.

Results: A pilot course is planned in May 2023 whereafter a formative evaluation will take place to inform any final instructional design modifications. Seven additional deliveries are scheduled throughout the G7 region between July and August 2023. Each delivery will include pre and post tests to assess learning outcomes within the first two levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, knowledge and comprehension. Three to six months after completion, a follow up survey will be sent to assess the application of this knowledge to their workplace and patients to assess the 3rd level of Bloom’s taxonomy, application. From these assessments, a summative evaluation will take place informing another revision.

Conclusion: Through partnering with a well-established course development team, with a background of course design in the field of pediatric disaster preparedness, a newly formed Pediatric Disaster Care Center of Excellence was able to rapidly develop and disseminate a new 2-day course. Future federally funded efforts should look to partner with similar groups to develop new coursework as well as look to incorporate pediatric considerations into their existing courses.