AFP
Copyright 2007 AFP

WASHINGTON — Emergency services in the United States are ill-prepared to help one of the most vulnerable population groups, children, in the event of a disaster, the results of a study published Monday showed.

"Children are among the most vulnerable in a disaster situation; planning for their care should be a major priority of the emergency care system," said the study, led by Steven Shirm of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children's Hospital.

Of 1,318 emergency services which said they had a written plan for dealing with a large-scale disaster, only 248 said their plan had specific provisions for the care of children, the study showed.

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