The Haiti Earthquake Case Study

Introduction

Nine years down the line and the Haiti earthquake still attracts so much scholarly, historical and medical curiosity. This was an earthquake of its kind, possessing a 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale, with its epicenter 17km away from Port-au-Prince, the Haiti capital, an area inhabited by around 3.5 million people (WHO, 2010). Haiti, prior to the earthquake was facing human-related catastrophes, regarding poverty, high unemployment rates, overcrowding, and malnourishment in children. The earthquake had adverse effects on the people living in the affected area, with amenities and infrastructure destructed, sewage facilities damaged, water system destroyed. The outcome of these effects were the displacement of people, loss of lives, and health implications due to the lack of sanitation, overcrowding, infections from the injuries and wounds sustained from the quake, among other social and emotional issues. The nursing interventions employed in this situation, composed of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, with each step designed to make the situation bearable or better for the victims. These interventions did not necessarily proceed with that order, but at some point in the handling of the case, each step was employed, with the primary prevention intended for those at the susceptibility stage, secondary prevention for those at the clinical stage, and the tertiary prevention for those in recovery. The nursing intervention in this case featured in through the response phase of the disaster, with the local authorities, and the disaster management department.

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Prevention is better than cure, so the cliche goes, and it is, therefore, this notion that drives the nursing intervention to different circumstances that require their services. The primary interventions, as earlier stated seek to address health risks for individuals at the susceptible stage. The Haiti disaster presented health risks due to the overcrowding of people, the lack of clean and safe water, inadequate food, among others. Therefore, the primary intervention at this point would be directed to the volunteers and the medical personnel entering Haiti to get vaccine shots against disease like tuberculosis, hepatitis B and E. The Haiti residents are also viable for the vaccines, as they are extremely exposed to the vectors of these diseases and other possible infections such as mumps, pertussis, and measles. The secondary interventions mostly deal with the casualties. From the Haiti earthquake, the victims recorded instances of head injuries, amputations, burns, weapon injuries, and fractures, all cases that needed to be addressed to prevent future complications or death. While the physical injuries required immediate actions and the undivided attention of the nurses, the emotional part of the disaster weighs or even worse than the wounds and amputations. Therefore, managing the stress levels, offering post-traumatic therapies, and gradually encouraging the emotional closure from the victims is vital. The loss of loved ones, property, homes and the fright that comes with narrowly escaping death can be overwhelming, and therefore, the nurses and medical personnel could set up mini-camps and manageable groups of people, and encourage them to share their traumatic experience, as well as guide them on their way to recovery. Tertiary prevention seeks to minimize suffering, eliminate extended disabilities, optimize function and extend survival (PAHO). The tertiary prevention could, later on, feature post-disaster recovery stage, where it could involve physical therapy for those declared disabled by the disaster, and tracking their emotional progress. This phase could be an extrapolation of secondary prevention, as some victims might require long-term interventions, and hence the extension of emotional therapy.

The involvement of the medical personnel, the foreign government, and some non-governmental organization were way after the disaster had taken place, and therefore, this qualifies these interventions to be within the response phase. This phase comes after mitigation and preparedness, and it typically is meant for addressing the immediate threats presented by the disaster, saving lives and providing for the basic humanitarian needs for those within the affected region (Herrmann, 2007). The success of the response intervention phase would require the close and integrative collaboration between the medical teams and the local government, more so when it comes to the issues of provisions, the facilities around, and the background information on the disaster. The local authorities also come in handy, when it comes to the rescue and recovery operations as well as the provision of security during the response operation. In other cases, non-governmental agencies, as with the case of the red cross organization, the USAID, among other chip for the provision of humanitarian needs, medical supplies and in some instances, medical personnel to give medical attention to the victims.

Disasters often hit nations, states, and countries with an unexpected magnitude, leaving the social and economic aspects of their livelihood wholly disoriented. The Haiti earthquake had a similar impact, yet with more intensity, due to the poor economic status and living standards of the Haitians. To address this disaster, the medical personnel handling the case had to employ the primary, secondary and tertiary prevention modes to deal with the pre-exposure to the catastrophe, address the complications from the disaster, and further follow-up on the victims' welfare to ensure the extension of life, and smooth transitioning from the disaster to life on the outside world.

References

Herrmann J. (2007). Disaster response planning & preparedness: Phases of disaster. Chapter 1. New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS). Pp. 11-14

Pan American health organization, PAHO. Types of prevention. Retrieved from https://cursos.campusvirtualsp.org/mod/tab/view.php?id=23157

World health organization (2010). Public health risk assessment and interventions Earthquake: Haiti.https://www.who.int/diseasecontrol_emergencies/publications/haiti_earthquake_20100118.pdf