Please write a paragraph with your opinion based on the text bellow. Please include citations and references in case you need to used for the question.

The word ‘natural disaster’ may be interpreted to mean any debilitating non man-made incident which destroys, seriously interrupts or disrupts the smooth functioning of the economic, social, environmental or other equilibrium of any community (International Federation Red Cross and Red Crescent, 2014; LaDuke, 2005). Natural disasters are inevitable and happen from time to time across different geographical locations. One of such natural disasters was the category 7.0 earthquake which struck Haiti on Tuesday January 12 2010. Referring to the aforementioned earthquake as a disaster is an understatement. More than 200,000 persons died and about 600,000 others were either injured, homeless or both. Hundreds of thousands of animals also died. To make matters much worse, Haiti is a third world country where corruption and non-existence of essential infrastructure are legendary (United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). In fact, Haiti has been described as the poorest country in the Americas and one of the poorest in the entire world (Dube, Moffat, Davison & Bartels, 2018).

Kind-hearted healthcare workers and other emergency personnel volunteered in large numbers from different countries of the world almost as soon as the earthquake occurred. The assistance of the volunteers notwithstanding, the situation was complex and challenging. Many people were sick and homeless. Food was scarce and burying the dead quickly to avoid a catastrophic outbreak of diseases was not easy (Dube, Moffat, Davison & Bartels, 2018).

A primary nursing intervention during a natural disaster would include immunizations and quarantining of infected individuals from the general population to prevent a spread of diseases. Other primary nursing interventions may include teaching the affected population proper handwashing, general sanitation and provision of potable water. Any intervention aimed at preventing the spread of diseases would be considered primary (Matthew, Ryoa, Evelyn & Jean Hugues, 2015).

On the other hand, secondary nursing interventions would include administration of proper medications to individuals who are ill, blood transfusions to patients in need of blood and post-surgical care of patients who experienced trauma from the natural disaster. Put into other words, whereas primary preventions have the goal of prevention, the goals of secondary prevention are support and management.

Tertiary prevention would involve the treatment, care and rehabilitation of patients who got injured from the natural disaster. This class of patients would also benefit from being referred to available local, state and federal resources The goal is to return the patient to the optimum possible level of functionality and good health (LaDuke, 2005).

The three proposed interventions fall under the recovery phase. Recovery falls under the fourth stage of disaster. It involves returning an affected community together with its economic, social and political life to reasonable normalcy (International Council of Nurses, 2010).

This nurse would prefer to work with the American Red Cross and Rotary International and is blessed to be a member of both at this time. Both assist immensely in the provision of high quality compassionate care to less fortunate members of society. Members volunteer for assignments in different countries of the world affected by natural or other disasters through the provision of direct care, donations or rescue activities.

References

Dube, A., Moffatt, M., Davison, C., & Bartels, S. (2018). Health Outcomes for Children in Haiti Since the 2010 Earthquake: A Systematic Review. California English, 23(3), 77. doi:10.1017/S1049023X17007105

International Council of Nurses (ICN) (2010): Framework of disaster nursing competencies. Retrieved September 9 2018 from http://www.icn.ch/images/stories/documents/networks/DisasterPreparednessNetwork/Disaster_Nursing_Competencies_lite.pdf

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (2014). "What is disaster". Retrieved September 9 2018 from www.ifrc.org/.../di