​Pediatric Tabletop Exercise Toolkit: Preparing for Disasters

Planning a Pediatric Tabletop Exercise

Disaster preparedness planning is crucial to have an effective response should a pandemic or public health disaster occur. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) describes requirements for children in its Ensuring the Health of Children in Disasters policy statement. There are a variety of exercises that can help stakeholders develop or test emergency preparedness plans, including tabletop exercises. Tabletop exercises are led by a facilitator and help groups solve a problem presented in a hypothetical, simulated emergency scenario. Participants discuss their roles during the emergency and what their response would be. Tabletop exercises with a progressive approach can be used to help an organization or community prepare for a more realistic, resource-intensive, full-scale exercise.

The purpose of the AAP Pediatric Tabletop Exercise Resource Kit is to provide suggestions and tools for states, communities, hospitals or healthcare coalitions to successfully plan for and conduct pediatric tabletop exercises. This resource kit includes recommendations on planning activities before the exercise, the day of the exercise and important activities after the exercise.