Abstract
In the event of a disaster, various events take place, which have negative implications for the people who are present when it occurs. Disaster situation can cause immediate adverse effects on people including the loss of life, injury, loss of property, as well as mental breakdowns owing to the extent to which individuals suffer from the occurrence of a disaster. Health care providers and other parties involved in alleviating should assess the state of disaster victims in a bid to establish the damage it has had on the victims, which includes both physical and mental damage. Typically, mental damage such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in disaster situations, occurs after the incidence, thus the preface post. Therefore, victims of disaster should be assessed over time in an effect to establish whether they incurred mental health damage such as PTSD. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in disaster situations may occur without notice, hence the need to conduct an assessment of disaster victims long after the disaster. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to conduct an assessment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in disaster situations and provide evidence that it occurs in disasters, as well as the various steps that should be followed in establishing and treating the same.
Introduction to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in disaster situations
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the most studied psychiatric disorder that commonly occurs post-disaster. Various studies have indicated that in most occasions, PTSD occurs in the event of traumatic experiences such as disasters, irrespective of the nature of the disaster. According to research, many people who are exposed to a disaster suffer a heavy burden due to developing mental health problems such as PTSD (Neria, Nandi & Galea, 2008) . In addition to that, other studies have indicated that there is the need to undertake various steps in the establishment of whether a disaster victim has PTSD.
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Research has indicated that when an individual is exposed to a traumatic and stress causing event such as a disaster, certain symptoms should be present for them to be deemed as suffering from PTSD. The research further explains that the common symptoms of a person with PTSD owing to the occurrence of a disaster are particular and should be the major indicators of PTSD. The characteristic symptoms are re-experience of the traumatic events leading to PTSD, avoidance of stimuli that is attributed to or associated with the disaster that is persistent, increased symptoms or arousal that is also persistent. These symptoms may go on or over a month (Taylor, 2017) . Overall, the characteristics symptoms should cause clinically significant impairment or distress that causes a disaster victim to be unable to perform social, occupational or other important duties in their lives.
The significance of the Topic to Student
Owing to the detrimental implications of PTSD as a result of disasters, I would like, as a nursing student, to be better equipped to handle and care for people suffering from PTSD. I would like to be able to detect and take care of patients with PTSD that results from experiencing traumatic events such as disasters, especially since most of the times it can go undetected. Therefore, I would like to administer proper care to disaster victims, which will include making sure they do not have PTSD before discharging them, and in the event they do, commence proper and effective treatment.
How this Topic would impact the Community either Locally, Nationally or Internationally
The topic will positively impact the community from the local level all the way to the international level. This is because it provides informative and beneficial information and facts on PTSD that results from experiencing a disaster. Moreover, the topic creates awareness that disasters could indeed result in PTSD. The local, national, as well as international community, will be able to understand and establish some of the characteristics symptoms to look out for when a disaster occurs in order to establish whether the victims have, as a result, developed PTSD. Upon establishing whether disaster victims have PTSD, they will also enable them to establish a means of caring for disaster victims with PTSD (Setou, Maruyama & Morimoto, 2005) . This will enable the local, national and international community to mitigate the effects of PTSD caused by disasters, thus promoting healthy living among disaster victims who consequently develop the condition in the discussion.
Correlation of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD to Disaster Situations
PTSD is an effect of traumatic experiences such as disasters, which cause a heavy burden on the disaster victims, thus the direct relationship between disasters and PTSD. When a disaster occurs, it causes people to experience trauma, which may cause persistent re-occurrence of the events of the disasters, which alongside other characteristics symptoms causes victims to suffer from PTSD (Taylor, 2017) . Depending on one’s experience of a disaster, certain people may take longer to get over the event, thus causing long-term PTSD. Therefore, PTSD is a direct implication of the traumatic distress caused by disasters, thus the correlation between the two.
A disaster that is associated with PTSD
Various studies have indicated that disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes have associated mental health implications such as PTSD. One study sought to establish the implications of disaster on the mental health of Swiss tourists, as well as people affected by the Indian Ocean basin tsunami. After the tsunami disaster in the basin of the Indian Ocean, self-screening test that was conducted via the internet was made in a bid to facilitate contact between victims and mental health services. This goes to show that there is the establishment of possible implications for mental health owing to the occurrence of disasters such as tsunamis. Findings of the study revealed that the aftermath of the disaster was characterized by trauma exposure, substance use as well as PTSD symptoms. The study’s findings further indicate that in women, the symptoms of PTSD were evident owing to the increased consumption of alcohol, cannabis as well as pharmaceuticals. In men, the symptoms of PTSD were evident owing to the increased consumption of pharmaceuticals (Stefan, Astrid, Wulf, Jonathan, & Jerome, 2008) . Overall, the tsunami was attributed to the development of PTSD symptoms, which the study attributed to the use of alcohol, cannabis as well as pharmaceuticals among the victims of the disaster.
Role of Public Health Department in the Event Disaster Victims Develop PTSD
Public health departments play a vital role in the reception, care, and treatment of disaster victims. As a result, the public health department through its physicians and caregivers, are responsible for the assessment of damage to both the physical and mental health implications of the disaster on victims. Similarly, health care centers are charged with the responsibility of establishing whether patients have PTSD. This entails running self-administered tests to patients. Additionally, it entails carrying out the necessary observation to establish whether or not disaster victims exhibit characteristic symptoms associated with PTSD owing to their experience during the disaster (Setou, Maruyama & Morimoto, 2005) . Once a healthcare provider establishes that indeed victims have PTSD after a disaster, then they are responsible for the establishment of treatment and care options for the disaster victims. Other than treatment and care for PTSD disaster victims, the public health departments are responsible for post-treatment and assessment. This is to ensure disaster victims who suffered from PTSD manage the condition or are treated of it completely (Setou, Maruyama & Morimoto, 2005) .
Literature Review
Despite there being less research on the disaster caused by PTSD, research has been able to establish various factors that influence and symbolize its occurrence. Studies have indicated that indeed there is a connection between disasters and the development of the health condition PTSD among disaster victims. In the event of a disaster, studies have identified particular characteristic symptoms as necessary for the disaster victim to be deemed as suffering from PTSD. Studies have been conducted and the findings suggest that the symptoms that should be identified include re-experience of the traumatic events leading to PTSD, avoidance of stimuli that is attributed to or associated with the disaster that is persistent, increased symptoms or arousal that is also persistent, which goes on or over a month (Taylor, 2017) . Healthcare facilities are required to conduct the necessary assessment in a bid to treat and care for disaster victims. These facilities need to make sure that the patients are fully treated at the time they are leaving the facility. Studies have emphasized, based on the findings on possible misdiagnosis or identification of PTSD symptoms, the need for in-depth assessment of health status of disaster victims to rule out the development of PTSD. Upon establishment of the condition among disaster victims, healthcare facilities are charged with the responsibility of developing treatment and care plans for disaster victims. Among the treatment methods established include therapy, the administration of medication, as well as stress inoculation treatment (Foa & International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, 2009) .
Conclusion
PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can be attributed to disaster, where disaster victims develop characteristic symptoms associated with the condition. For an individual to be diagnosed with PTSD owing to the events of a disaster, they have to exhibit certain symptoms. Understanding disaster-related PTSD is important because it facilitates the alleviation of its implications within the local, national, as well as international community (Setou, Maruyama & Morimoto, 2005) . The healthcare sector is charged with the responsibility of handling disaster victims with PTSD thus the need for such facilities to be fully equipped, and its staff conversant with the factors surrounding the condition for proper treatment and care for patients with the condition.
References
Foa, E. B., & International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. (2009). Effective treatments for PTSD: Practice guidelines from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies . New York: Guilford Press.
Neria, Y., Nandi, A., & Galea, S. (2008). Post-traumatic stress disorder following disasters: a systematic review. Psychological medicine , 38 (4), 467-480.
Setou, N., Maruyama, S., & Morimoto, K. (2005). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder after Disaster: Issues of screening and early support. Japan Medical Association Journal , 48 (7), 353.
Stefan, V., Astrid, R., Wulf, R., Jonathan, B., & Jerome, E. (2008). Exposure to the tsunami disaster, PTSD symptoms and increased substance use–an Internet based survey of male and female residents of Switzerland.
Taylor, S. (2017). Clinician's guide to PTSD: A cognitive-behavioral approach . Guilford Publications.
