BSN FP 4014 Global Perspectives of Community and Public Service

For this assessment, develop background research that would support a proposal for an organizational process allowing health care professionals to volunteer time and services when global events happen. First, identify the global event you will be using in your research, and then:

Introduction

The report covers the detail on the local and national response to the global image of 2004 Indian ocean earthquake which occurred on December 26, 2004 with an epicentre off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a massive tsunami which had a disastrous effect on the people living along the coast of India, Indonesia, Thailand and South Asia (Hoving 2016). The analysis of the response to the event will determine how non-profit organization and health professional took the responsibility to provide health service to affected groups and what factors affected the response to the event.

Response to a global event

The natural disaster of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami challenges humanitarian assistance to an unprecedented degree. There was no initial warning and people could realise the early sign of tsunami only when the waterline of ocean suddenly retreated exposing beaches. Had there been an Indian Ocean tsunami warning system in place, the losses regarding death (2, 30, 000 deaths), homelessness (1.7 million), emergency aid (5-6 million) and destruction of villages (1500 villages) would have been lesser (BBC - KS3 Bitesize Geography - Plate tectonics, 2017). The immediate response to the Indian Ocean tsunami was provided by the local authorities in the form of search and rescue operations, arranging emergency food, water and shelter for people and providing immediate medical care to injured persons. Health professionals were involves in taking actions to prevent disease, providing medical assistance and psycho-social service to homeless people (2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami - Direct Relief, 2017).

 In many local areas quick burial orders were made to avoid spread of disease due to the dead bodies. World Food Programme was involved in providing food to millions of people and about 7 billion $ aid was promised by foreign governments too. The long-term response to the event is still going on with many reconstructing taking place. Furthermore to avoid such level of disaster in the future, Indian Ocean tsunami warning system has been set up. Small scale sustainable development projects was also implemented by non-profit organization to provide support to people who were rendered homeless or suffered due to loss of family members (Hoving, 2016).

Impact of race, class and gender on the response

Due to the rise in the incidence of disaster worldwide, disaster management and emergency response preparedness has become a major priority for all nations. The Indian ocean tsunami is the deadliest natural disaster in history which killed 2,25,000 people in eleven countries. Issues of gender highly affected the response to the tsunami women and children accounted for maximum number of death and injuries. Many women were widowed and children were orphaned due to the loss of their family members. As women are weak socially, economically and politically in society, they were more vulnerable to hazards. Lack of gendered approach in disaster response highly affected the rehabilitation and emergency aid process. Effective interventions would have been possible if relief workers had an understanding of gender dynamics during disaster (Pincha, 2008).

Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of place also determine the level of harm afflicted to people before or after a natural disaster. In case of 2004 tsunami, low income group living in coastal areas of India had high rates of injuries and sufferings. Hence, response to disaster is affected if the disaster strikes an underprivileged population. Due to socioeconomic characteristics, different population face different level of risk. Therefore, long term response to such events should also consider impact of disaster on different population groups (Donner & Rodríguez, 2013).

Role of organization in providing health care service related to the event 

Many humanitarian responses to the Indian Ocean earthquake were provided by non-profit organization and emergency preparedness group. These organizations play an important role in providing psychosocial support, giving medical aid to people and developing health facility and rehabilitation for people. For example the ‘Direct Relief’ organization provided about $60 million medical humanitarian aid to support affected people to live healthier lives. Direct Relief helped to reconstruct fishing village in Thailand and they constructed about 34 health clinics along the coast of India. It also supported young women in preparing for career in medical field to support their living. Hence, the response of Direct Relief was influential in building affected nation’s resilience during emergencies (2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami - Direct Relief, 2017).

Barrier to receiving the health care service related to the event

The health care facilities suffered badly after the Tsunami. In places like Phang-Nga provinces due to death of the 25 public health volunteers and damage to the 6 public health centres there was a decrease intake of patient load. Similar condition in other parts such as Sri Lanka, India delayed the required surgeries and emergency care. The barriers were manly lack of sufficient anaesthesia, health care practioners, public demand exceeding the capacity to provide the psychological counselling, inadequate stock of external fixator equipment for orthopaedic-injury patients, and bun out and depression among the caregivers due to increasing burden of identifying dead bodies with unknown disease potential. The misconception among the stressed healthcare workers about  high risk of disease transmission while handling dead bodies delayed the procedure of closure wanted many  foreign victims of Tsunami in Thailand (Gutman & Yon 2014).

Other barriers include political instability leading to insecurities and poor conditions of roads due to Tsunami causing inaccessibility of the health services particularly in places such as Somalia. It delayed rapid health assessments and was obstacle in seeking external support from the non-governmental organisations. Some patients in Thailand were unregistered migrant workers in Burmese. It was difficult to meet their needs as non governmental agencies mainly dealt with them. It was difficult to transfer them to others countries for their special health needs. Further, some countries received medicines that were unmarked and time expired (Rassekh & Santosham, 2014).

Role of professional nurse in providing health service related to the event

Professional nurses played vital role in early recovery of the victims of the Tsunami. Professional nurses working for the Tsunami victims had the prevention and mitigation competency. They thus played significant role in provision of appropriate protective materials, risk assessment and management, and developing guidelines and protocol for   specific incident management.  Nurses from foreign countries arrived in Maldives to deliver emergency care. They adhered to their principles of infection control and were able to prevent major outbreaks even when working out of one's area of license (Kamal et al., 2012).

Professional nurses were diligent in handling dead bodies and helping the family to recognise them and store them in refrigerated mortuary in different hospitals. In addition, nurses played special role in disaster preparedness. They played a leadership role in aftermath long term recovery. By providing guidance in different phases of the disaster and with their pledged assistance they were able to reduce the death tolls in Thailand and Maldives. Several nurses in Indonesia established “clinics and mobile services” (a private initiative) and delivered primary and prenatal care irrespective of the patient’s capability to pay (Kamal et al., 2014).

Conclusion

In conclusion health care services are prone to challenges during global events such as Earthquake or Tsunami. Hence there is a global need for the health care workers to be adequately prepared. Nurses should be equipped with the competencies required (response, preparation, prevention and recovery) for the disaster care appropriate for the social context and hence should be incorporated in their education program. The healthcare agencies should implement advance panning for emergency care such as evacuation of the badly injured patients to be discussed before occurrence of the global event. Hospitals in every country must be well equipped with the curative care, desalination plants, cold chain systems and vaccination to prevent epidemic outbreaks. This offers a framework for effective decision-making.

References

2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami - Direct Relief. (2017). Direct Relief. Retrieved 10 March 2017, from https://www.directrelief.org/focus/emergency-preparedness/2004-indian-ocean-earthquake-tsunami/

2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami - Direct Relief. (2017). Direct Relief. Retrieved 10 March 2017, from https://www.directrelief.org/focus/emergency-preparedness/2004-indian-ocean-earthquake-tsunami/

BBC - KS3 Bitesize Geography - Plate tectonics : Revision, Page 9. (2017). Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2017, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/geography/physical_processes/plate_tectonics/revision/9/

Donner, W., & Rodríguez, H. (2013). Disaster Risk and Vulnerability: The Role and Impact of Population and Society. Population Reference Bureau.

Gutman, G. M., & Yon, Y. (2014). International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.

Hoving, J. K. (2016). How negotiations within the humanitarian arena shape the effectiveness of the coordination of disaster response: A literature review of the Indian Ocean earthquake of 2004 in Indonesia and the Haitian earthquake of 2010 in Haiti.

Kamal, A., Songwathana, P., & SaeSia, W. (2014). A comparative study of knowledge regarding emergency care during disaster between community health volunteers working in tsunami-affected and non-affected areas in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Nurse Media Journal of Nursing, 4(2), 733-744.

Kamal, A., Songwathana, P., & Sia, W. S. (2012). Knowledge and skills of emergency care during disaster for community health volunteers: a literature review. Nurse Media Journal of Nursing, 2(2), 371-381.

Pincha, C. (2008). Indian Ocean tsunami through the gender lens. Insights from Tamil Nadu, India. Mumbai: Nanban Trust and Oxfam America Earthworm Books.

Rassekh, B. M., & Santosham, M. (2014). Utilization of formal health services for children aged 1–5 in Aceh after the 2004 tsunami: Which children did not receive the health care they needed? Implications for other natural disaster relief efforts. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine: An Open Access Journal, 2(1), 111-131.