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COVID-19 Resources

Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. This work is achieved by promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and injury prevention, and detecting, preventing and responding to infectious diseases. Overall, public health is concerned with protecting the health of entire populations. These populations can be as small as a local neighborhood, or as big as an entire country or region of the world (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020).

When public health emergencies occur, there is rapidly evolving information that may be confusing and lead to feelings of anxiety. In the event of an outbreak in your community, your first concern is about how to protect and take care of yourself, your children and your family. Knowing important information about the outbreak and learning how to be prepared can reduce your stress and help calm likely anxieties.

These resources will help you think about how an infectious disease outbreak or pandemic might affect your family— both physically and emotionally—and what you can do to help your family cope in times of public health emergencies.

NCTSN Resource

Age-Related Reactions to a Traumatic Event

Type: Fact Sheet

Describes how young children, school-age children, and adolescents react to traumatic events and offers suggestions on how parents and caregivers can help and support them.

NCTSN Resource

Psychological First Aid (PFA) Online

Type: e-Learning Course

Includes a 5-hour interactive course that puts the participant in the role of a provider in a post-disaster scene. This course is for individuals new to disaster response who want to learn the core goals of PFA, as well as for seasoned practitioners who want a review.

NCTSN Resource

Supporting Children and Teens During This Holiday Season

Type: Fact Sheet

Offers parents and caregivers strategies and ideas for supporting children and teens during the holiday season. This fact sheet provides tips that parents can use to talk to their children and teens about how they are feeling and changes to holiday celebrations and traditions.

NCTSN Resource

Assessing and Treating Interpersonal Violence in the Wake of COVID-19

Type: Webinar

Describes assessment strategies and evidence-based interventions for interpersonal violence in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic across development, with a focus on 1) how to ask children about their trauma experiences and responses; 2) the use of Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) for young...

NCTSN Resource

Child and Adolescent Traumatic Stress Reactions to COVID-19-Related Deaths

Type: Webinar

Describes aspects of COVID-19-related deaths that can contribute to children’s traumatic stress reactions, with an emphasis on developmental considerations and behavioral health disparities. To date, more than 140,000 children have lost a parent or primary caregiver to COVID-19-related deaths.

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