System-Level Analysis of Japan's Pediatric-Perinatal Disaster Liaison Operations During the 2024 Noto Earthquake.

Authors

Kyosuke Kagami, Kazunori Imai, Yasuhisa Ueno, Hiroyuki Kitano, Shinya Hirabuki, Hiromasa Sasaki, Hitoshi Sato, Yusuke Mitani, Hidenori Iwasaki, Taizo Wada, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Nobuya Unno

Published in

Pediatrics international : official journal of the Japan Pediatric Society. Volume 68. Issue 1. Pages e70488.

Abstract

Children, neonates, and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable during disasters. Fragmentation between specialized pediatric-perinatal systems and general disaster response frameworks can hinder coordinated care. Following lessons from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan established the Disaster Liaison for Pediatric and Perinatal Medicine (DLPPM) to embed specialists within disaster command structures. However, large-scale activation under prolonged infrastructure disruption has not been systematically evaluated.
We conducted a structured retrospective descriptive analysis of DLPPM operational records during the first month after the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake. Activities were reviewed across five pre-specified domains to examine how the liaison framework functioned during the acute and subacute phases.
DLPPM was integrated into the prefectural disaster headquarters and consolidated maternal-child health information, enabling centralized identification of 83 pregnant women, estimated to represent most pregnant women in the severely affected region. Twenty-one obstetric transfers were coordinated. Pediatric transfers and evacuation of medically dependent children were facilitated through established networks. During the subacute phase, DLPPM initiated maternal-child support measures, including a "Children's Conference" and a support website. These findings suggest that DLPPM functioned as a centralized coordination hub linking specialized clinical networks with disaster governance, although real-time identification of vulnerable families in shelters remained limited.
Embedding pediatric and perinatal specialists within disaster headquarters can support structured medical coordination for vulnerable populations. Earlier and more systematic integration with public health and welfare systems is essential to extend this hub function beyond hospital-centered care.

PMID:
42438887
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Jul 2026.

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