title: An ark of prevention: Preventing school absenteeism after a flood.
abstract: Children have been identified as a demographic group that is particularly vulnerable to disaster-induced psychological problems such as separation anxiety and phobias, both of which can lead to higher levels of school absenteeism. This paper presents an overview of a program designed to prevent school absenteeism following a flood in the central Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia. The program activities developed to achieve this goal involved a cognitive behavioral approach designed to equip students with the skills to cope effectively with future rainfalls. In evaluating the success of the program, analysis of school attendance records showed no increase in school absenteeism in the seven months following the flood, compared to attendance records for the previous ten years.
authors.affiliation: , .
authors.forename: L G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Echterling