Utility of child physical characteristics and verbal descriptors to aid in family reunification during disasters

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2022.0415

Keywords:

disaster, reunification, pediatrics, surge capacity, emergency management

Abstract

Objective: To identify physical and verbal descriptors that have the highest concordance between parents/guardians and a research team member to improve reunification during a disaster when a child arrives at the emergency department separated from their family.

Methods: Parent and child pairs were recruited between February 2020 and March 2020. Each parent and research team member simultaneously recorded the child’s physical characteristics and clothing items. Verbal children were asked personally identifying questions. An inter-rater reliability Cohen’s κ determined percent agreement between each researcher and parent/child pair.

Results: In total, 98 parent/child pairs participated. Child’s gender, eye color measured as brown versus not brown eyes, and race had the highest concordance (κ = 0.92, 0.85, and 0.84, respectively; p < .001 for all). Skin color and all hair descriptors had low concordance. All or almost all verbal children correctly identified that they have a pet and a favorite stuffed animal or blanket (100 and 98.6 percent, respectively).

Discussion: Only apparent age, gender, race, and general eye color (brown versus nonbrown) had strong concordance between each researcher and parent/child pair. Other descriptors such as hair color, texture, length, and detailed eye color were discordant. Additionally, several pieces of personal information, such as a pet, could expedite reunification of verbal children.

Conclusion: Not all physical characteristics are likely to be useful in accurately identifying a child, and some personal information may aid in reunification. Using the most concordant information should allow for more accurate and rapid reunification of children and their caregivers during disasters.

Author Biographies

Terri Rebmann, PhD, RN, CIC, FAPIC

Special Assistant to the President, Director, Institute for Biosecurity, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri; Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri

Rachel L. Charney, MD

College for Public Health and Social Justice, Division of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri

Rachel L. Mazzara, MPH

College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri

References

Nager AL: Family reunification—Concepts and challenges. Clin Pediatr Emerg Med. 2009; 10(3): 195-207.

Brandenburg MA, Watkins SM, Brandenburg KL, et al.: Operation child-ID: Reunifying children with their legal guardians after hurricane Katrina. Disasters. 2007; 31(3): 277-287. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7717.2007.01009.x.

Broughton DD, Allen EE, Hannemann RE, et al.: Getting 5000 families back together: Reuniting fractured families after a disaster: The role of the national center for missing & exploited children. Pediatrics. 2006; 117(5 Pt 3): S442-S445. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2006-0099S.

Chung S, Mario Christoudias C, Darrell T, et al.: A novel image-based tool to reunite children with their families after disasters. Acad Emerg Med. 2012; 19(11): 1227-1234. DOI: 10.1111/acem.12013.

Blake N, Stevenson K: Reunification: Keeping families together in crisis. J Trauma. 2009; 67(2 Suppl): S147-S151. DOI: 10.1097/TA.0b013e3181af0c13.

Rebmann T, Gupta NK, Charney RL: US hospital preparedness to manage unidentified individuals and reunite unaccompanied minors with family members during disasters: Results from a nationwide survey. Health Secur. 2021; 19(2): 183-194. DOI: 10.1089/hs.2020.0065.

Charney RL, Rebmann T, Esguerra CR, et al.: Public expectations for nonemergency hospital resources and services during disasters. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2013; 7(2): 167-174. DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2013.4.

Charney RL, Rebmann T, Esposito F, et al.: Separated after a disaster: Trust and privacy issues in sharing children’s personal information. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2019; 13(5-6): 974-981. DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2019.32.

Kling D, Egeland T, Piñero MH, et al.: Evaluating the statistical power of DNA-based identification, exemplified by ’the missing grandchildren of Argentina. Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2017; 31: 57-66. DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2017.08.006.

Broach J, Yong R, Manuell ME, et al.: Use of facial recognition software to identify disaster victims with facial injuries. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2017; 11(5): 568-572. DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2016.207.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): Face Recognition Vendor Test (FRVT). 2020. Available at https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/face-recognition-vendor-test-frvt. Accessed June 17, 2022.

Mace SE, Sharieff G, Bern A, et al.: Pediatric issues in disaster management, part 3: Special healthcare needs patients and mental health issues. Am J Disaster Med. 2010; 5(5): 261-274.

Barthel ER, Pierce JR, Speer AL, et al.: Delayed family reunification of pediatric disaster survivors increases mortality and inpatient hospital costs: A simulation study. J Surg Res. 2013; 184(1): 430-437. DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2013.05.078.

Burke RV, Ryutov T, Neches R, et al.: Health informatics for pediatric disaster preparedness planning. Appl Clin Inform. 2010; 01(3): 256-264. DOI: 10.4338/ACI-2009-12-R-0019.

Gallagher HC, Richardson J, Forbes D, et al.: Mental health following separation in a disaster: The role of attachment. J Trauma Stress. 2016; 29(1): 56-64. DOI: 10.1002/jts.22071.

Gold JI, Montano Z, Shields S, et al.: Pediatric disaster preparedness in the medical setting: Integrating mental health. Am J Disaster Med. 2009; 4(3): 137-146.

Published

03/01/2022

How to Cite

Rebmann, PhD, RN, CIC, FAPIC, T., R. L. Charney, MD, and R. L. Mazzara, MPH. “Utility of Child Physical Characteristics and Verbal Descriptors to Aid in Family Reunification During Disasters”. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 17, no. 1, Mar. 2022, pp. 5-12, doi:10.5055/ajdm.2022.0415.

Issue

Section

Articles

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.