An earthquake is a natural disaster that, despite the ability to be predicted by scientists, results in unpredicted scopes of severity for the population every time the rupture happens. In terms of primary prevention of such a disaster, it is necessary to establish a public body or organization responsible for the creation of an extensive network of food, water, and first-aid kits to last people through the first days while waiting for backup. This prevention may be secured by the community health nurses, as they directly communicate with public organizations on the matter of support (Abdi et al., 2020). This prevention stage is held during the so-called interseismic phase of the elastic building prior to the earthquake, as this stage may exist a long time before the actual rupture.
Secondary prevention, being the most emergent challenge for medical workers, comprises a variety of interventions. When it comes to nurses’ competence during this stage, they are obliged to secure management of the injured patients and patients with prior medical conditions that put them at higher risk of suffering the consequences (Rezaei et al., 2020). Secondary prevention takes place almost immediately after the rupture, during the phase of earthquake aftermath.
Finally, the most important intervention during tertiary prevention is the follow-up on the survivors’ physical and mental rehabilitation. With an already stable pattern of health care providers in the area, local nurses could organize a system of regular check-ups for the patients who require special attention after the disaster (Abdi et al., 2020). This stage also takes place in the aftermath phase of an earthquake. Both interseismic and aftermath phases of the disaster were chosen for the interventions due to the fact that earthquake rupture that takes place between the phases does not allow for explicit medical intervention. Preventive measures and rapid disaster response, in their turn, fall into the nurses’ responsibilities.
In terms of facilitating various organizations, it is necessary for the community health nurses to cooperate with the local government. For example, the US Department of the Interior (DOI) secures the functioning of the Natural Disaster Response and Recovery Program, which aims at developing strategies and planning relief missions in case of an emergency (USDOI, n.d.). When cooperating with them, community health nurses are capable of developing a health care blueprint for natural disasters. The other significant source of facilitation is the NGOs, who might secure a number of volunteers to assist the relief mission in case of emergency.
References
Abdi, A., Vaisi-Raygani, A., & Najafi, B. (2020). Reflecting on the Challenges encountered by nurses at the great Earthquake in the West of Iran: A qualitative study. Web.
Rezaei, S. A., Abdi, A., Akbari, F., & Moradi, K. (2020). Nurses’ professional competencies in providing care to the injured in the earthquake: A qualitative study. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 9(1), 188.
US Department of Interior [USDOI]. (n.d.). Natural disaster response and recovery. Web.