Disaster Nursing

• Mass casualties are associated with disasters, terrorism, and biological warfare
• Using Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) is not new to human history

Types of Disaster

• Man-made disasters include fires, explosions, pollution, terrorism, transportation, airplane/train crashes, and toxic substance spillage
• Natural disasters include floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires

Emergency Nursing vs. Disaster Nursing

• Emergencies are routine events handled daily by local police, fire, and emergency medical services
• Emergency nursing focuses on providing care in emergency departments (EDs) for patients with acute illnesses or injuries needing immediate attention
• Emergency Nursing situations are often individual and occur in controlled environments like hospitals
• The work of emergency nurses typically revolves around urgent, but usually short-term, care
• Emergency nurses are trained to quickly assess, stabilize, and treat patients for conditions such as trauma, heart attacks, strokes, or severe infections
• Disaster nursing involves responding to large-scale emergencies or disasters, natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes, floods) and man-made events (terrorist attacks, industrial accidents)
• Disaster nurses work in crisis situations and often in mass casualty incidents
• Disaster Nursing takes place in temporary or field-based settings, such as shelters or makeshift clinics
• Disaster nursing focuses on triage, providing care in resource-limited settings, and managing a high volume of patients
• Disaster nurses engage in public health efforts, community-wide support, and post-event recovery
• Emergency nursing is more individual and hospital-based
• Disaster nursing addresses broader, large-scale situations that require rapid response in diverse settings

Disaster Defined

• Any event, typically occurring suddenly, causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of health and health services
• A disaster exceeds the capacity of the affected community on a scale sufficient to require outside assistance
• A disaster represents sudden ecological phenomenon of sufficient magnitude to require external assistance
• A disaster is an emergency of severe magnitude where deaths, injuries, illnesses, and property damage cannot be effectively managed with routine procedures or resources
• A disaster is an event in which a society or community undergoes acute deprivation of food and other basic needs due to natural and man-made calamities
• During a disaster, the normal function of the society/community is disrupted and cannot subsist without outside intervention

Hazard Defined

• A hazard is a potential threat or danger that could cause harm or damage
• A hazard has the capacity to cause a disaster but isn't necessarily a disaster on its own
• Hazards can be natural, like earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes
• Hazards can also be human-made, such as chemical spills, nuclear accidents, and industrial accidents
• A hazard refers to the risk or possibility of something happening but hasn't yet caused any major damage

Hazard vs. Disaster

• Hazard: A dangerous situation that poses a threat to human life; has less critical consequences; takes its full shape after a series of events
• Disaster: An event that completely causes damage to human life and property; has more critical/catastrophic consequences; often happens quickly, causing more severe effects

Emergency

• An emergency is a state in which normal procedures are suspended and extra-ordinary measures are taken to avert a disaster
• An emergency can be defined in the context of the social, political, and epidemiological circumstances in which it occurs

Prevention

• Prevention refers to actions taken before an event happens to stop it from occurring in the first place
• The goal of prevention is to completely eliminate the risk or cause of the event, so it doesn't happen Prevention includes:
• Vaccination programs to prevent disease outbreaks
• Building codes/regulations that prevent buildings from being easily destroyed in an earthquake
• Enforcing laws to reduce the risk of accidents or environmental harm, like pollution prevention

Mitigation

• Mitigation refers to efforts made before, during, or after an event to reduce its severity or impact
• Mitigation minimizes the harm or damage that can result from a hazard
• Prevention seeks to stop an event altogether, mitigation accepts that some risks will occur and aims to lessen their consequences
• Examples of mitigation include constructing flood barriers or levees to reduce flooding impact, retrofitting buildings to be more earthquake-resistant, and developing early warning systems for natural disasters like hurricanes/tsunamis

Prevention vs. Mitigation

• Prevention is about stopping the event from happening
• Mitigation is about reducing the damage if the event happens

Disaster Nursing Questions & Answers

• Primary role of a disaster nurse during a mass casualty event: assessing and triaging patients based on the severity of injuries or conditions
• Primary goal of disaster risk reduction (DRR) in nursing: minimize the impact of disasters on health and well-being
• Mitigation involves: reducing the severity of disaster impacts on affected populations
• Most likely to be considered a vulnerable population during a disaster: individuals with chronic medical conditions or disabilities
• Common challenge nurses face during disaster response: shortages of staff, resources, and medical
• Term used to describe the method of prioritizing care for patients based on the urgency of their medical needs in a disaster setting: triage
• Most vulnerable populations during a disaster: pregnant women, children, and the elderly
• An example of disaster prevention: constructing flood barriers in at-risk areas
• Actions most beneficial in reducing health risks associated with a natural disaster: ensuring that communities are educated on disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness