Overview
Select a potential natural or man-made disaster that could happen in > your community. Then, write a 3- to 4-page paper about the disaster from > the community nurse’s perspective. > > Section 1: The Disaster, Man-Made or Natural > > – What disasters may strike your community and why? For example, do you > live in “Tornado Alley,” or has climate change resulted in unusual cold > weather snaps or blizzards in your community? Are you located in a flood > plain? Include possible diseases that may result from a natural > disaster, > such as tetanus or cholera. > > Section 2: The Nursing Response > > – Formulate responses to the disaster, considering systems and community > levels of intervention. > – Review websites where a disaster plan may be available for the public, > or if one is not currently available, call public health department to > see > if a disaster plan exists for your community and what the plan contains. > – In addition to reviewing websites for information about your local > disaster plan, you will need to locate best practice/evidence-based > practice guidelines in professional literature to determine whether your > community’s disaster plan is as sound as it might be or if there is room > for improvement. > > Section 3: Is My Community Prepared for a Disaster? > > – What conclusions can you draw about your community’s preparedness plan > from having completed this evaluation? > > > Week 4: Evidence-Based Practice in Disaster Planning: Nurses as Leaders > > – Public health surveillance is one way that public health officials > target intervention strategies (Turlock, 2016). Often, it is through > prompt > recognition of and reporting of incidents of communicable disease that a > disaster can be averted (Turlock, 2016). Surveillance activities often > prompt questions such as, What is causing the disease? How is it > spreading? > And who is at risk (Turlock, 2016)? While it is true that preparedness > planning cannot eliminate all traces of threat to a community, planning > assures that medical services and treatment are deployed in an > effective, > efficient, and rapid manner (Turlock, 2016). Public health plays a vital > role in coordination of providers, assurance of supplies particularly > when > the Strategic National Stockpile pharmaceuticals and supplies are > required, > and mobilization of state and national response systems. Public health > officials may also provide health care services when required (Turlock, > 2016). > – Stanhope (2016) noted that evidence-based practice (EBP) has become > more important in health care for many reasons: increased expectations > of > consumers, increased availability of information through the Internet, > increased accountability for results, health care economic changes, and > growing numbers of lawsuits, among other reasons. EBP is a lifelong > problem-solving approach that regularly produces excellent results and > often provides the theoretical underpinnings for programs to mitigate > problems in the community. Once programs are in place, evaluation of > their > effectiveness should be conducted to determine whether they are worth > the > continued expenditure of resources. Use of EBP is vital to assure safe > outcomes for populations during disasters, such as massive communicable > disease outbreaks, and should be the foundation of disaster-planning > strategies. > > > Required Readings > > Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2016). Public health nursing: > Population-centered health care in the community (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: > Elsevier. > > – Chapter 15, “Evidence-Based Practice” (pp. 342–354) > – Chapter 23, “Public Health Nursing Practice and the Disaster > Management Cycle” (pp. 503–528) > – Chapter 24, “Public Health Surveillance and Outbreak Investigation” > (pp. 529–544) > – Chapter 25, “Program Management” (pp. 545–567) > > Required Media > > – Laureate Education (Producer). (2009a). Family, community and > population-based care: Emergency preparedness and disaster response in > community health nursing [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. > – TED. (2012). How to step up in the face of disaster [Video file]. > Retrieved from > > https://www.ted.com/talks/caitria_and_morgan_o_neill_how_to_step_up_in_the_face_of_disaster > – This Ted Talk describes the actions of two sisters who step up as > leaders during a tornado disaster in their community.