Policy and practice recommendations for services for disabled children during emergencies: Learning from COVID-19.
Hannah Merrick, Christopher Morris, Amanda Allard and 2 others
PMID 39460642WHAT IT FOUND
Stakeholders agreed on 19 recommendations for disabled children's services in emergencies.
Key priorities include keeping education settings open, maintaining designated in-person assessment spaces, and ensuring clear, joined-up guidance from national bodies to local commissioners.
Key findings
01Consensus was reached on 19 final policy and practice recommendations for services to disabled children in future emergencies.
02Priority should be given to ensuring education settings remain open for disabled children, and designated spaces should be maintained for in-person assessment of agreed conditions.
03National departments must provide clear, consistent, and joined-up guidance to commissioners and service providers, specifically highlighting any changes from previous guidance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study focused on England, though authors suggest relevance to other UK nations and similar systems. Participation from young people was very low, with only three completing the survey. Attrition between survey rounds was 36%, with the highest drop-off among parent carers. Commissioner participation was low, which may limit the practical applicability of recommendations for those responsible for resource allocation.
Declared interests
The research was commissioned by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research Policy Research Programme.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these recommendations are legally binding or already implemented. They represent a consensus on what should happen in future emergencies, but the study notes that further work is needed to determine who is responsible for enacting each recommendation.