ch 20 community preparedness: disaster and terrorism Flashcards
(36 cards)
Nursing roles
-play an important role in all phases of disaster response
-all practicing nurses should become familiar with disaster phases their and their role during an event
public health nurses practice principles of disaster response daily
disasters
natural:
wildfire, flood, hurricane. tornado, avalanche, earthquake, thunderstorm
human-made:
technologic- chemical spills, cyber-attacks
social- ware, genocide, terrorism
environmental- deforestation, famine
disasters vary by
onset
duration
magnitude
extent to which the event affects the community
disaster management cycle
preparedness
mitigation
response
recovery
evaluation
preparedness (on a local, national, international level)
although disasters do not occur with frequency, planning with VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT can reduce the impact on the community
-identification of hazards
-analysis of vulnerability
-assessment of risk
-National response framework
What is MRC/CERT
MRC- a community-based program that organizes and utilizes local volunteers for emergency preparedness and response
CERT- educates and trains professional and lay volunteers on disaster preparedness. (may be found in state/federal)
mitigation
prevention process with two components
- an effort to prevent identified risks from causing a disaster (focusing on implementation of preventative measures for reducing and eliminating identified risks before an event occurs, COST-EFFECTIVE PRIMARY PREVENTION)
- Structural mitigation involves the creation or removal of structures or alteration of the environment to eliminate or mitigate risks.
- PPE: prevents the transfer of the hazardous agent from the victim or the environment to healthcare practitioners (EX: gloves, masks (surgical/N95), goggles
biological, chemical, and radiologic exposure occurs by breathing contaminated air, dermal contact, and or eating or drinking adulterated products.
response
dictated by size, onset, duration
incident command system
-on-site, flexible, all-hazards system
-set of personnel, policies, procedures, facilities, and equipment integrated into a common organization structure.
-common titles and roles (not person organized into 5 areas)
-command, planning, operations, logistics, finance, administration
All of these roles manage hierarchies, control funds, personnel, facilities, equipment, and communication
personnel- wide variety of agencies, jurisdictions and backgrounds come together rapidly
recovery
BEGINS as disaster ENDS- timeline varies
-challenges continue:
death, chronic illness/disability
potential for population shift
contamination of food/water
collapse of local healthcare
increase need mental health (PTSD effects)
document & evaluate
documentation during a disaster (not possible or expected to document with normal standards)
evaluation (foundation for evidence-based disaster response), analyzing effectiveness (helps future planning), formal report after action report (detail report of strengths and weaknesses and even failure with suggestions for future)
bioterrorism
intentional release of viruses, bacteria, fungi, or toxins from living organisms into the environment to cause illness or death
biological warfare- worse where one creates a disaster and lets nature do a chain reaction to where one cannot stop it
biological agents used for bioterrorism
category A (WORST- posed risk to national security)
EX: smallpox, botulism, anthrax, tularemia, viral hemorrhagic fevers (ebola), and plague
category B (second highest priority)
EX: typhus fever, ricin, toxins, diarrheagenic e. coli and West Nile
category C (third highest)
EX: hantavirus, influenza virus, TB, and rabies virus
bioterrorism agents
-anthrax (bacillus anthracis)
-clostridium botulinum
-plague (yersinia pestis)
-smallpox (variola virus)
-viral hemorrhagic fevers (ebola)
detection recognition
is there a rapidly increasing disease incidence in a normally healthy population
ANTHRAX
agent- bacillus anthracis
transmission- air/ingestions of spores
s/s- differ based on site of transmission (INHALATION MOST SERIOUS)
treatment-antibiotics
vaccine- YES for military, lab personnel
ANTITOXINS (antibiotics)
scientist grow bacteria in the lab and harvest its toxins
inject horses with the toxin and as an immune response the animals blood produces antitoxins
scientists collect blood from the horses and separate out the antitoxin rich serum
then researchers purify the antitoxin serum and use as a medication
BOTULISM
agent- clostridium botulinum
transmission- ingestions of poorly preserved food
s/s- body-wide neurotoxicity (death due to resp muscle paralysis)
treatment- antitoxin
vaccine- NONE yet
PLAGUE
agent- yersinia pestis
transmission- bite from rodents, fleas
s/s- “buboes” (swollen lymph nodes near bite) DEATH due to septicemia
treatment- antibiotics
vaccine- yes, but not in use (too common)
SMALL POX
agent- variola virus
transmission- air
s/s- body-wide rash (death due to cytotoxicity and organ failure)
treatment: antivirals
vaccine- yes, but not in use (too uncommon)
TULAREMIA
agent- francisella tularensis
transmission: air/contact/ingestion
s/s- differ based on the site of transmission (pneumonic tularemia most serious)
treatment: antibiotics
vaccine: none yet
EBOLA
agent: ebola virus
transmission: rodent/ticks/person-person
s/s: hemorrhage, shock
treatment: antivirals
vaccine: just recently…;
chemical disasters
when released, makes its own presence known immediately through observation (explosion)
self-admission (accidental), or the occurrence of rapidly emerging symptoms, such as burns, difficulty breathing, or convulsions
role of nursing in chemical disasters
STAY OR GO, the evaluating factors include:
-hazardous material involved
-population threatened
-time span
-current/predicted weather conditions
-Ability to communicate emergency information
radiologic disasters
health outcome depends on:
-amount or dose of radiation absorbed
-type of radiation
-route of exposure
-length of time exposed
