– 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.