Assessing emergency preparedness of families caring for young children with diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

PURPOSE: To help children with chronic illnesses and their caregivers assess emergency preparedness.

CONCLUSIONS: Little work has been done to ascertain patient adherence levels to these recommendations. Additionally, little is known about the seeking patterns of healthcare providers and/or changes in interventions based on certain elements of emergency preparedness, such as the presence of medical alert identification and an emergency kit.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Healthcare providers must discover their patients’ level of emergency preparedness and facilitate the acquisition and implementation of elements of emergency preparedness that meet their patients’ needs.