1)What spiritual considerations surrounding a disaster can arise for individuals, communities, and health care providers? Explain your answer in the context of a natural or manmade disaster. How can a community health nurse assist in the spiritual care of the individual, community, self, and colleagues? with intext citation and references
2)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:
- Propose one example of a nursing intervention related to the disaster from each of the following levels: primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention. Provide innovative examples that have not been discussed by previous students.
- Under which phase of the disaster do the three proposed interventions fall? Explain why you chose that phase.
- With what people or agencies would you work in facilitating the proposed interventions and why?with intext citation and references
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
Disasters, whether natural or man-made, have profound effects not only on individuals but also on communities and healthcare providers. In addition to physical and psychological trauma, disasters can also have spiritual implications. Therefore, it is essential to understand the spiritual considerations that arise during disasters and how healthcare providers, including community health nurses, can assist in providing spiritual care.
1) The spiritual considerations surrounding a disaster can be significant for individuals, communities, and healthcare providers. Disasters can shake one’s faith in the world and the divine power, leading to spiritual distress, guilt, and abandonment. Individuals may lose their homes, loved ones, and sense of security, leading to feelings of hopelessness and despair. Communities that share a collective identity and values may experience collective trauma, leading to questioning of their cultural or religious beliefs. Healthcare providers may experience moral and ethical dilemmas while deciding whom to treat first or dealing with resource depletion.
A community health nurse can provide spiritual care in the following ways:
– Active listening and compassionate presence to acknowledge and understand the spiritual distress of patients, families, and colleagues
– Providing emotional and psychosocial support to all involved parties, including themselves
– Collaborating with faith-based organizations to provide spiritual services to those who desire it
– Participating in spiritual rituals or meditation activities with patients and families, per their preference and availability.
References:
– Spiritual care in disasters. (2020). Nursing Standard, 34(12), 54-61. https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.2020.e11561
– Rife, T. (2013). Spiritual and religious care following disaster. Journal of Christian Nursing, 30(3), 166-171. https://doi.org/10.1097/CNJ.0b013e31829d65c7
2) Nursing interventions related to disasters can be classified as primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention focuses on preventing the disaster from occurring, while secondary prevention focuses on reducing its impact. Tertiary prevention aims to rehabilitate and restore affected individuals and communities’ physical, psychological, and social well-being. In the context of the earthquake in Haiti, the following innovative nursing interventions could be proposed:
– Primary prevention: Educating the community about earthquake safety measures, such as creating earthquake-resistant buildings and conducting mock drills, to prevent or reduce the severity of future earthquakes.
– Secondary prevention: Providing first aid and basic medical care to prevent further injuries or illnesses in the disaster’s immediate aftermath. This could also include setting up a temporary healthcare facility to deliver healthcare services to affected individuals.
– Tertiary prevention: Providing rehabilitation and mental health services to those affected by the disaster. This could include physical therapy for those with injuries and grief counseling for those who have lost loved ones in the disaster.
These interventions fall under different disaster phases:
– Primary prevention falls under the mitigation phase, which involves actions taken to prevent or reduce the impact of a disaster.
– Secondary prevention falls under the preparedness phase, which involves planning and taking actions to reduce the consequences of a disaster.
– Tertiary prevention falls under the recovery phase, which involves the restoration and rehabilitation of people and communities affected by the disaster.
The following people or agencies would need to be involved in facilitating these interventions:
– For primary prevention, the community leaders, government agencies responsible for earthquake safety codes, and local technical professionals would need to collaborate.
– For secondary prevention, healthcare providers from various specialties, such as emergency physicians, nurses, and paramedics, would need to work together with local healthcare organizations and disaster management authorities.
– For tertiary prevention, mental health professionals, social workers, and non-governmental organizations specializing in disaster recovery would need to be involved.
References:
– Gowing, J. R., & Walker, K. N. (2013). Elucidating the definition of disaster: A systematic review of the literature. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 7(4), 317-323. https://doi.org/10.1001/dmp.2013.80
– Chan, E. Y., & Kim, J. H. (2020). Disaster nursing: A narrative review of the literature and directions for future research. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 42, 101361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101361
