Nursing Intervention after the Haiti Earthquake
The victims of the earthquake in Haiti would benefit from psychological counseling. This is a form of primary level nursing intervention. A strong earthquake shook Haiti with a magnitude of 7.1. The aftermath was death to more than two hundred thousand of the victims and the displacement of more than one million people (UNICEF, 2020). After such a traumatic event, survivors are prone to undergo difficulties in getting over the situation. They are likely to develop psychiatric conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and mood disorders if no intervention is made (Trevino, 2017). Psychological counseling is a primary prevention method as it would educate the survivors on how to cope with the situation and advise on behaviors that would keep them healthy mentally (Benedictine University, 2020). Partners to be included in this include clinical psychologists, counselors, and psychiatrists.
The survivors would also benefit from secondary prevention strategies. This could be done through the provision of antibiotics, disinfectants, and bandages for wound coverings. The disaster left many people injured as no prior warning had been given on its possible occurrence. Ensuring that the wounds are adequately covered and disinfected would ensure that other complications like sepsis and cellulitis don’t set in. Secondary prevention aims at early disease detection by identification of risk factors (Benedictine University, 2020). Open wounds and their inadequate management thus pose a significant health risk that calls for urgent intervention. Local administrators would be vital in identifying victims in need of help. Similarly, UNICEF would be an integral partner in the provision of antibiotics, disinfectants, and bandages (UNICEF, 2020).
Finally, the victims of the earthquake would benefit from tertiary prevention strategies. These aim at ensuring that pre-existing medical conditions are adequately managed. The quake destroyed critical infrastructure like hospitals in Haiti. Furthermore, it had such a substantial economic impact that the already impoverished country became severely devastated (Amadeo, 2020). This means that the purchasing power of the population was reduced. Also, medical services were either unavailable or inaccessible. Provision of drugs for chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart failure amongst others would thus go a long way in ensuring the affected persons don’t decompensate. Donors and well-wishers would be critical in ensuring this.
References
Amadeo, K. (2020, April 14). Haiti’s 2010 Earthquake Caused Lasting Damage. Retrieved June 3, 2020, from https://www.thebalance.com/haiti-earthquake-facts-damage-effects-on-economy-3305660#:%7E:text=Damage%20From%20the%20Earthquake&text=It%20crippled%20the%20main%20airport,au%2DPrince%2C%20Haiti’s%20capital.
Benedictine University. (2020, March 12). The Role of the Nurse in Preventative Health Care. Retrieved June 3, 2020, from https://online.ben.edu/programs/msn/resources/role-of-nurse-preventative-health-care#:%7E:text=Primary%20Prevention&text=From%20providing%20immunizations%20to%20reinforcing,economical%20method%20of%20health%20care.https://online.ben.edu/programs/msn/resources/role-of-nurse-preventative-health-care#:%7E:text=Primary%20Prevention&text=From%20providing%20immunizations%20to%20reinforcing,economical%20method%20of%20health%20care.
Trevino, J. (2017, September 29). The ‘disaster psychologists’ who helped after Mexico’s quake. Retrieved June 3, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170929-the-disaster-psychologists-who-helped-after-mexicos-quake
UNICEF. (2020, January 10). The Haiti earthquake: 10 years later. Retrieved June 3, 2020, from https://www.unicef.org/stories/haiti-earthquake-10-years-later#:%7E:text=Working%20together%20with%20national%20and,were%20separated%20from%20their%20families.