Disaster management is an essential practical skill for any health care practitioner or anyone in the field of social sciences. Disasters happen spontaneously, often without warning, warranting the need for an effective and efficient response team. Communities in catastrophe-prone areas need to be empowered to tackle the problem as it unfolds. An effective response team should deploy its services in a matter of hours after a disaster has occurred, as this is the crucial period dictating how many lives are saved or lost. The article will discuss two case scenarios, i.e., scenario 2 and 4, concerning disaster planning.
Scenario 2
Scenario 2 gives a case of an outbreak of influenza affecting 20% of the population leading to livelihoods being crippled since businesses are closing. I am supposed to advise local law enforcement officials for them to continue serving the needs of the people. As a start, the local law enforcement officials should take up action and responsibility promptly that will prevent the spread of the outbreak. Taking up action includes several necessary activities. Law enforcement officials can create a hotline that will be used to track the cases. Furthermore, the hotline can also be used for passing information back to the people and giving them updates on the outbreak. Caitria and Morgan explain specific use case scenarios of having a hotline (O’Neill and O’Neill, 2012).
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Once the hotline is up and running, the officials are supposed to gather as much information as possible about the outbreak. The information is useful in prioritizing cases and mobilizing resources effectively. For instance, the data can be used to sketch a map of the affected and unaffected areas; hence during deployment of help, the team is aware of where and what is needed during the response. Additionally, since the outbreak has affected 20% of the population, there is bound to be some panic amongst the people in the area. Usually, law enforcement officials are tasked with maintaining law and order; thus, they should put an effort in ensuring the people are still orderly. In cases where a disaster hits, some radicals amongst the population take advantage to commit opportunistic crimes that may hinder recovery. The law enforcers should ensure no such extremists exist in the areas affected.
In the case under discussion, the viral infection is highly contagious; thus precautions on the responding team are necessary. For starters, the viral infection has a vaccine which should be administered to all responding agencies. The vaccine will prevent contraction of the disease, thus ensure the individual will continue to offer their services throughout the outbreak peak period. Apart from being vaccinated, law enforcement officials can integrate their services with external help. Agencies such as the CDC will rapidly respond to a disease outbreak. These agencies have specialized resources and protocols for handling infectious outbreaks. Liaising with them will give the law enforcement officials access to the preventive tools that they can utilize to ensure they continue proving their services to the people.
In cases where gaps have been created in the personnel due to the illness, recruiting locals to help in the activities is key in remedying understaffs. Caprara et al. (2015) carried out a study on the impact of social participation in controlling the dengue fever outbreak in Brazil. From the survey, social participation provides a sustainable and cost-effective way of curbing disease outbreaks. The influenza outbreak is no different; thus, my recommendation will be to recruit locals and give them the capacity to manage themselves.
Scenario 4
The other case scenario is of the influenza outbreak affecting 25% of the population, and social amenities have been crippled. In such a case, panic levels are high leading to disruption of social systems. The first thing to do is control the panic by providing insights into how the disease is constrained to the masses. More so, one should be in a position to answer any questions that the people have swiftly to foster confidence that the problem is being tackled. All these can be fulfilled, only if local services are up and running regularly.
Cancedda et al. (2016) note the importance of strengthening social amenities in the face of a disaster. In the study, the authors suggest that the interruption of social services delays service delivery, thereby prolonging the time taken to recover from a disaster. In scenario 4, essential commodities such as milk and bread are in short supply. This will reflect on the population by interrupting their way of life, leading to the adoption of coping strategies that have the potential to hinder recovery services. Encouraging the store owners to keep their businesses open and running is typically a step closer to promoting recovery. Providing the population with essential services will prevent further spread of the disease to other areas as the people migrate to search for their basic needs.
Another recommendation to the store owners is to donate items that are direly needed by the community. This is primarily for pharmacies since they supply medication that can be used to control the infections. Other than closing the shops, which may result in food perishing, especially groceries, the store owners can donate the commodities or leave their stores open. To prevent future such occurrences, store owners can develop a policy that requires all the staff working in the stores to be vaccinated against common infectious diseases affecting the area. Disasters will always continue to happen and to be prepared and tackling the problem as it unfolds is our best bet of saving millions of lives in the face of a disaster.
References
Cancedda, C., Davis, S. M., Dierberg, K. L., Lascher, J., Kelly, J. D., Barrie, M. B., ... & Sumbuya, M. S. (2016). Strengthening health systems while responding to a health crisis: lessons learned by a nongovernmental organization during the Ebola virus disease epidemic in Sierra Leone. The Journal of infectious diseases , 214 (suppl_3), S153-S163.
Caprara, A., De Oliveira Lima, J. W., Rocha Peixoto, A. C., Vasconcelos Motta, C. M., Soares Nobre, J. M., Sommerfeld, J., & Kroeger, A. (2015). Entomological impact and social participation in dengue control: a cluster randomized trial in Fortaleza, Brazil. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene , 109 (2), 99-105.
O'Neill, M., & O'Neill, C. (2012). How to step up in the face of disaster . Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/caitria_and_morgan_o_neill_how_to_step_up_in_the_face_of disaster
