Regional Pediatric Prevention Network - PURPOSE AND NEED. The U.S. cannot fully protect its children in disasters without permanent, coordinated, national infrastructure for pediatric preparedness. Children are 22% of the population but need resources adults do not: weight-based dosing, pediatric-sized equipment, developmentally appropriate communication, and mental/behavioral health (MH/BH) support. Fewer than half of U.S. hospital disaster plans address children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN), an estimated 14 million children. Rural emergency departments (EDs) and EMS agencies score consistently lower on pediatric readiness, and most youth (77%) and caregivers (68%) report no involvement in disaster planning. Children's National Hospital (CNH), a current RPPN recipient, proposes a five-center network to close these gaps and, with the second primary recipient, form one integrated national RPPN. TARGET POPULATION. Children and families across five HHS regions, with two affiliate sites extending reach to the Northeast, U.S. island territories, and Tribal communities: CNH (Region 3), UAB/Children's of Alabama (Region 4), Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago (Region 5), Children's Mercy Kansas City (Region 7), Seattle Children's Hospital (Region 10), and affiliates Cohen Children's Medical Center (Region 2) and Oklahoma Children's Hospital (Region 6). Priority populations are CYSHCN, children with MH/BH needs, and children in poverty and in rural, remote, and Tribal communities. National reach extends to children's hospitals, community EDs, EMS agencies, primary care, schools, and community organizations. OBJECTIVES. Aligned to the five NOFO goals: (1) Preparedness: by Year 4, a regional preparedness collaborative model adopted by three or more additional centers, with measured hospital readiness gains; (2) Readiness: by Year 5, at least 75% of engaged hospitals with baseline National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP) scores below 80 achieve a 10-point or greater NPRP gain; (3) Community collaboration: by Year 2, a National Community Engagement Framework adopted at all centers, with family, youth, and community advisory representation at every site; (4) Telehealth by Year 4, each center establishes or expands five or more pediatric telehealth partnerships with confirmed disaster-available capacity; (5) Research-informed care: throughout, evidence-informed guidance disseminated within 7 days of qualifying events, with at least 70% of users reporting practice or policy improvement. STRATEGIES. Locally executed programs are designed to generalize nationally. Each center runs evidence-based programs matched to its hazard profile; every program is documented in shared toolkits, disseminated through national domains and service cores, tested in cross-center collaboratives, and measured against a single Network Performance Measurement Framework. Methods include pediatric-inclusive disaster planning, "come-to-you" readiness coaching and in-situ simulation, pediatric drill integration, disaster behavioral health pathways, CYSHCN continuity planning, telehealth for rural and Tribal reach, youth and family co-design, and national partnerships with Safe Kids Worldwide, America's Poison Centers, and The Beryl Institute. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS. Change in weighted NPRP scores; change in Pediatric Disaster Preparedness Self-Assessment for Children's Hospitals domain scores across 187 eligible hospitals; parent and caregiver perceptions of community preparedness; youth preparedness confidence (pre/post); telehealth capacity; dissemination reach and user-reported practice change; and after-action findings from real events. Data are collected and reported to HRSA quarterly and drive continuous quality improvement, a Year 3 mid-project evaluation, and a public final evaluation report.
