Nurses can have a
positive impact on community health by playing a role in community disaster
preparedness. Safety promotion is already
a major aspect of nursing. Providing
education, manipulating environments, encouraging positive behaviors, and anticipating
barriers to achieving high levels of health, are all techniques nurses employ
to enhance safety. Nurses who know at
least the basics about disaster preparedness can help the community prepare for
when disaster strikes.
Nurses work with
clients to assess their current risks, especially in relation to existing
health problems. The process is the same
when done as part of disaster preparedness.
Obviously, all people require the basic needs of food and water, and
should be encouraged to keep extra amounts of those items in their homes and
vehicles, but additional considerations must be made when individuals have
health challenges. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2013) recommend preparing for all hazards by gathering emergency supplies, having a disaster
plan, and being informed on what to expect and how to proceed as necessary
under different circumstances. The CDC offers great generic resources, and is definitely a source to which others should
be referred. As useful as those
resources are, they do not fully address or critically think about and problem
solve the way nurses do when aiding clients in disaster preparedness. The CDC (2013) advises having a seven day supply of medications in with the emergency supplies. Nurses can help clients figure out how to go
about doing that safely, so they have the medications they need in an
emergency, without limiting or not fully complying with their current
medication regimen.
Clients have a wide
variety of health issues that will change their needs and preparation for
disasters. For example, pregnant women
would benefit from education about how to give birth when there are not many
resources available, as well as how to minimize infection (AWHONN, 2013). People who require insulin for their diabetes need to learn about how to store and use their supplies during disasters. Nurses are able to ask the right questions to
determine what resources clients may have available, what education is needed,
which behaviors need to be encouraged.
One important behavior is to prepare oneself and then expand to make the
whole community more equipped to successfully cope and survive any disaster.
Finally, in addition to preparing others for disasters, nurses need to be prepared for their roles and responsibilities in times of disaster. The American Nurses Association (2013) is a great resource that nurses can explore to learn more about different types of disasters, legal and ethical considerations, and how to go about getting the education needed to be competent disaster responders.
Aleigha, great post! I agree that nurses need to facilitate communication on preparedness whether it be for a national disaster or an individual crisis (with a patient, family, or themselves). It is our duty to research and learn what to do in case of an emergency and what our employer/facility expects from us during this time. I believe I watched a Grey's Anatomy, season 9 episode 24, called the Perfect Storm. The hospital experienced a terrible storm and patients were flooding in by the busload. Their resources started depleting and they had to improvise all while the electricity becomes unstable. This is obviously an exaggeration of what might happen to an actual hospital during a severe storm (or maybe not?), but being prepared for these and any other type of disasters is important.
ReplyDeleteAleigha, you had some great suggestions in your post! I had not even thought about having prescriptions available for a disaster situation, although this would be an important component of survival if you had medications that you had to take at the same time everyday, such as a post-transplant patient.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Aleigha! I agree that nurses can do a great deal to promote disaster preparedness, especially when it comes to educating patients on taking care of their health during unexpected circumstances such as disaster--for example, knowing how to store insulin in the even of a disaster or having extra medication supplies handy. The Red Cross is another great resource on what to include in your emergency disaster kit: http://www.redcross.org/prepare/location/home-family/get-kit
ReplyDeleteGreat post Aleigha! I agree that as health care professionals we have a positive impact on community health by playing a role in community disaster preparedness. When I was in elementary school each year we had an entire week dedicated to disaster preparedness. Our assignments throughout the week were to create a plan for each different type of disaster that we may experience, such as a tornado, fire, etc. then implement the plan with all members of our family at home. This was a great assignment because my parents hadn't really considered what exactly they would do in an emergent situation, such as a fire, except to grab my brother and I from our rooms and run outside! This yearly activity not only trained me to prepare for disaster situations but also trained my family to do the same.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this post Aleigha! Disaster-preparedness is very important in the healthcare setting. Unfortunately, I have not witnessed staff taking drills to practice disaster related events very seriously. Testing of the fire alarm seems to occur so often, that sometimes it does not even cause people to react within the hospital. For instance, at a management forum, the presenter continued to speak through the fire alarm and it took over ten minutes for people to get out of their seats and start walking toward the exit. As nurses we should be role models for the rest of the staff and participate in all drills to prepare us for these unanticipated events.
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