Phases of Disaster Management (Nursing)

00:01 This presentation is about the phases of disaster management.

00:06 In order for public health nurses to develop strategies that mitigate the impact of disasters, it's important to understand the phases of disaster management.

00:15 In this presentation, I'll walk you through the four phases, and the role of the public health nurse in each.

00:22 Here's the full model of the phases of disaster management.

00:27 You'll see there are four phases that are separated in four different colors.

00:32 Let's take a look at each in detail starting with the green.

00:35 This is prevention and mitigation.

00:38 During the prevention and mitigation phase, no disaster is expected or anticipated in the near future.

00:45 The tasks that we complete during this phase are to identify community risk factors to develop and implement programs to prevent disasters from occurring, or mitigate their impact.

00:55 We also train personnel and educate citizens about what to do if a disaster occurs.

01:01 A great example of an activity here is fire drills.

01:04 We don't anticipate that a fire is going to happen, but we still prepare it by making plans and educating those who are at risk.

01:11 The goal here is to prevent or minimize the impact of future events.

01:16 In this phase, the public health nurse can establish objectives, conduct risk assessments, and engage in risk prevention and mitigation.

01:28 Moving on to the next phase.

01:30 Here we have preparedness.

01:32 And this phase, we're anticipating that a disaster is going to occur in the near future.

01:37 For example, we may know that a tornado is headed our way based on weather predictions.

01:42 Disaster Preparedness involves improving community and individual reactions and responses.

01:47 So that the effects of the disaster are minimized.

01:51 This includes communication and evacuation.

01:54 Here we also have to acquire equipment, personnel, supplies, medicines, even food, clean water, blankets, shelter, anything that we will need once the disaster occurs.

02:07 In the preparation phase, the public health nurse can help with emergency access, maybe establishing smart evacuation routes.

02:16 The public health nurse can actually be a part of the emergency team conducting drills and carrying out activities once the disaster has occurred.

02:25 The public health nurse can also determine what equipment is needed and help acquire that emergency equipment.

02:31 Next, we have the response phase.

02:34 The response phase begins as soon as the disaster occurs.

02:38 Preparedness plans take effect immediately.

02:41 With the goals of saving lives and preventing further injury or damage to property.

02:46 Activities during the response phase include: rescue, triage, transportation of individuals who've been injured, and treatment at local hospitals or clinics.

02:56 In the response phase, the public health nurse can be a part of those rescue and relief efforts.

03:01 They can also do an immediate assessment of the damage to determine population health needs.

03:07 They can also collaborate with others in the protection of damaged property.

03:13 Finally, we have the recovery phase.

03:16 In this phase, the community takes action to repair and rebuild their community.

03:21 Here, we relocate damaged homes and businesses.

03:25 We restore health, social and economic vitality to the community.

03:30 Psychological recovery of a community is also addressed in this part of the model.

03:36 In the recovery phase, the public health nurse can do a detailed damage assessment to have a true understanding of the needs of the population.

03:45 They can also take part in treatments in the community, and finally, in the recovery and rehabilitation of the community.

03:54 By understanding the phases of disaster management, we're able to identify how we can positively impact the community before, during and after a disaster occurs.