The “Diary of Medical Mission Trip” Videos

Watch the “Diary of Medical Mission Trip” videos dealing with the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Reflect on this natural disaster by answering the following questions:
1. *Propose one example of nursing intervention related to the disaster from each of the following levels: *primary prevention, *secondary prevention, and *tertiary prevention. **Provide innovative exam[les that have not been discussed by previous students.
2. *Under which phase of the disaster do the three proposed interventions fall? **Explain why you chose that phase.
3. With what *people or *agencies would you work in facilitating the proposed interventions and *why?
– APA 7th Edition, no abstract.
– Please pay attention to key words.
– Follow the order of the questions, remember not to miss any question.
– Thesis is comprehensive and contains essence of the paper.
– Clear, standard, academic English.
– Cite WHO, CDC, when appropriate.
– All format elements are correct.
– Sources are completely and correctly documented as appropriate to assignment.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Diary of Medical Mission Trip” videos

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti wreaked scores of injuries who need trauma care and surgery and also caused massive mortality. Population displacement led to overcrowding, which combined with poor living condition to increase the risk for epidemic, water and airborne disease outbreak (World Health Organization, n.d). The role of the nurse is focused on risk reduction, disease prevention and health promotion. The purpose of this paper is to propose nursing interventions from the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

Propose one example of nursing intervention related to the disaster from each of the following levels: primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention.

Nurses play a crucial role during disasters by proving care to the ill or injured victims, assisting families and individuals to cope with emotional and physical distress as well as work to improve wellbeing and health within the community. After a disaster, people become exposed to water and airborne diseases, which in turn increase morbidity and mortality among the victims. Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention are designed to decrease or prevent potential harm (Rivera-Rodriguez, 2017). Primary prevention refers to preventive measures taken to prevent the disease from occurring in the first place. Adequate sanitation (latrine building) and provision of safe drinking water are examples of a primary prevention designed to prevent disease outbreak, such as cholera and diarrhea, among homeless people gathered in overcrowded place. Population displacement leads to overcrowded resettlement places, increasing the risk of communicable disease transmission and potential outbreak of air and waterborne diseases.  Improving sanitation will reduce morbidity among the overcrowding homeless.  

Secondary prevention involves activities taken to facilitate early detection of the disease and treatment. An example is an early screening and management of communicable and non-communicable diseases among the vulnerable population. Haiti has high prevalence and incidence of tuberculosis and HIV (WHO n.d). The earthquake destroyed hospitals and other structures and thus disrupted HIV and anti-TB treatment services. It also affected patient follow. Therefore, screening and testing are essential part of the provision of care. Conducting epidemiological surveillance is essential. 

Tertiary prevention revolves around people who are already injured or sick and its goal is to enhance quality of life. An example is the provision of medical rehabilitation designed to help injured patients to return to the highest level of function and independence. The nurse rehabilitates the victims who have already had disability or impairment helping them to recover capacity. Rehabilitation services will facilitate earlier identification, treatment, referral and support. An example is the amputee rehabilitation for amputated victims.

Under which phase of the disaster do the three proposed interventions fall?

The proposed interventions fall under mitigation, response and recovery phases respectively. Primary prevention (adequate sanitation) falls under the phase of mitigation. This is because this this phase is designed to reduce vulnerability and potential disease outbreak from occurring despite the exposure.

Secondary (screening and testing) falls under response. This phase is designed to minimize harm or reduce the spread of diseases. Response addressed urgent threats posed by the emergency, including meeting humanitarian needs, saving lives, restoring operations, restoring utilities, cleanup, and sanitation. Tertiary prevention corresponds to the concepts of recovery and rehabilitation. Tertiary prevention entails action taken to help victims to recover their full capacity and functional ability to live normal lives again (Harris, 2018).

The three interventions fall under acute phase. This phase starts immediately following the impact of the disaster. Critical services like providing basic health care, sanitation, food and water are quickly organized to save lives (Mawere, 2018).

With what people or agencies would you work in facilitating the proposed interventions and why?

The agencies and people to work with include emergency services, department of social services, Federal Emergency Management Agency, media, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) business institutions, private sector related to disaster management, donors, community/citizen, local and international NGOs (American Red Cross) (Al-Fazari, & Karim, 2019). These are a group of organizations and people dedicated to minimize the impact of natural disasters worldwide. Therefore, the agencies are best placed to help me deliver to facilitate effective interventions in Haiti. Constructive collaboration with key stakeholders is essential as they provide resources to carry out these interventions. Donors are an essential partner to work with owing to their ability to increase efficiency in humanitarian response. Global donors may include World Bank, UNDP and UNESCO. Media participation helps with distributing news on post-debacle effect. Community and citizen is another stakeholder to work with, especially as pertains to providing first aid treatment and immediate rescue response. The Red Cross plays a critical role in empowering the community and building local capacity. It responds to disasters to help alleviate suffering.  FEMA supports first responders and citizens of any community.

References

Al-Fazari, S., & Karim, N. (2019). Role of Stakeholders in Mitigating Disaster Prevalence: Theoretical Perspectivete environment. Matec Web of Conference 266, 03008. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/2019I201826626603008

Harris, Y. (2018). Emergency Preparedness and Response. In Wagner, J. (Ed.) Leadership and Influencing Change in Nursing (Pp 232-246).Regina, SK: URPress. Retrieved from: https://ourspace.uregina.ca/handle/10294/8296.

Mawere, M. (2018). Political economy of poverty, vulnerability and disaster risk management: Building bridges of resilience, entrepreneurship and development in Africa’s 21st century. Bamenda, Cameroon: Langaa Research and Publishing Common Initiative Group,

Rivera-Rodriguez, E. (2017). Role of the Nurse during Disaster Preparedness: A Systematic Literature Review and Application to Public Health Nurses. Dissertation. Walden University Scholar Works.

World Health Organization. Revised UN Humanitarian Appeal – Global Health Cluster Plan. Retrieved on December 29, 2020 from https://www.who.int/hac/crises/hti/appeal/revised_un_appeal/en/