Disaster planning is among the issues that require precise attention, written in “Emergency preparedness. Healthy People 2030.” It is possible to assume that health communication is the critical underrepresented objective because it might significantly increase people’s well-being and minimize potential adverse outcomes of the disaster. Therefore, the goal of “increasing the proportion of emergency messages in news stories that show empathy, accountability, and commitment” is an underrated objective in disaster planning (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2022). People do not know the optimal way to react in critical situations because they do not have role models providing sufficient examples. Altruistic help for others and showing empathy is more complicated than behaving egoistically, but it significantly improves the situation during disasters. For this reason, emphasizing the importance of kindness, altruism, and commitment in daily news stories increases public awareness of this role model and popularizes this behavior.
Community health nurses have the primary role in meeting this objective by personal example. Cultural preparedness for disasters is a critical factor in the adequate response to the problem in the crucial situation (Demarco, Healey-Walsh, 2019). Community nurses can show episodes from their work on social media and popularize knowledge about selfless conduct in cases when other people need assistance. These messages create the right cultural background that influences the ways people perceive disasters and their responsibilities during these events. For instance, a community nurse can increase public awareness about first aid to people who suffer from disasters using their blog or social media accounts. It is possible to show how to talk to the disaster survivors and how to calm down. Most people usually perceive this content quickly, and it becomes the background knowledge they can apply automatically in case of a disaster.
References
Demarco, R. F., Healey-Walsh, J. (2019). Community and public health nursing. Wolters Kluwer Health.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2022). Emergency preparedness. Healthy people 2030. Web.