Feedback in Decision-Making
Hundreds of people were killed, and hundreds several were wounded in one of the worst tornado epidemics in US history. In December 2021, more than 50 hurricanes wreaked havoc spanning six states. The storms wreaked the most havoc in Kentucky, causing widespread and unexpected mortality and devastation in several areas. Twisters ripped into houses, industries, government facilities, and more structures, locking individuals inside and leaving rescue crews seeking survivors(Tanzi, 2022). A tornado destroyed over half of Mayfield, Kentucky, involving a plant with several people within. Originally, tens of thousands of residents in Kentucky and Tennessee lacked electricity and water. Shelters have been established in Tennessee and Kentucky, and many have also sought refuge with friends and family.
Disasters produce physical devastation, but they also generate mental harm and the requirement for mental health treatments. The mental impact on victims, directly and indirectly, impacted, and respondents assisting with relief operations could be long-lasting. Psychological First Aid is intended to alleviate the anguish produced by catastrophic situations while also providing a feeling of safety and security(Zuckerman et al., 2020). Victims and first responders who require continuing assistance would be directed to local providers. Americares is fulfilling a key need in the Mayfield community and reducing the long-term psychological health implications of the hurricanes by offering assistance (de Amorim et al., 2021). Even when their residences and enterprises are restored, most individuals will still deal with their grief and loss.
While main prevention actions may be carried out irrespective of capacity-building in other healthcare sectors, such is never the scenario for secondary prevention. Furthermore, a robust primary medical care system with a recognized population makes it easier to organize and conduct available population-based screening programs, which should be aggressively pushed(Lam et al., 2018). Nurses act as leaders in disaster planning and response at several levels: in communities, at catastrophe sites, and in the workplace, ranging from a health care institution to a region or at the local, national, or worldwide level(Izumikawa, 2019). Leaders impact the country’s ability to deal with and recover from crises.
References
de Amorim, L. M., Alves, R. N. P., Júnior, J. G., Neto, M. L. R., Araújo, J. E. B., & de Matos Cassiano, C. J. (2021). An alert from the present to the future: The impact of environmental disasters on health of children and adolescents. Journal of Pediatric Nursing.
Izumikawa, K. (2019). Infection control after and during natural disaster. Acute Medicine & Surgery, 6(1), 5–11.
Lam, S. K., Kwong, E. W., Hung, M. S., Pang, S. M., & Chiang, V. C. (2018). Nurses’ preparedness for infectious disease outbreaks: A literature review and narrative synthesis of qualitative evidence. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(7–8), e1244–e1255.
Tanzi, M. G. (2022). How prepared are most pharmacists for emergency situations? Pharmacy Today, 28(2), 35.
Zuckerman, A. D., Patel, P. C., Sullivan, M., Potts, A., Knostman, M., Humphreys, E., O’Neal, M., Bryant, A., Torr, D. K., & Lobo, B. (2020). From natural disaster to pandemic: A health-system pharmacy rises to the challenge. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 77(23), 1986–1993.