Children and Disasters: A Practical Guide to Healing and Recovery

Edited by Wendy N. Zubenko Joseph A. Capozzoli. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. $35.00 (cloth cover), $16.95 (paperback). ISBN (cloth): 0-19-513573-3; (paper): 0-19-515490-8.

Children and Disasters is a valuable reference manual for any healthcare provider who assists children with recovery from a traumatic experience. Disasters encompassing war, earthquakes, bombings, flooding, plane crashes, and fires are frightening experiences for children. Children and Disasters addresses how nurses, advanced practice providers, counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other professionals can support children through their encounters with disasters.

Zubenko and Capozzoli excellently outline children's responses to crisis situations, encompassing developmental concerns during stress and crisis, differentiation between posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic stress reaction, the use of role playing during the recovery phase, group interventions, and normalizing children's lives after a major crisis.

Case studies are presented throughout the chapters. This reference manual provides practical guidelines for assisting in the emotional and developmental aspects of children's care after traumatic experiences. In the wake of the September 11, this reference manual outlines coping strategies for children that may help them to develop a sense of safety during troubled times.

Children and Disasters is complete and organized and offers useful information in an area that is rarely taught in the professional setting. This reference manual can be used by all healthcare providers to provide emotional support for children during traumatic times. This is an excellent reference manual for the clinical nurse specialist/advanced practice nurse in any pediatric clinical setting. Children and Disasters is highly recommended for any professional who works with children.