Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Prevention Interventions: Haiti 2010

Primary prevention and nursing interventions include: the workers and volunteers receiving available, necessary and appropriate shots prior to entering Haiti. For the Haitians, immunization would also be given. This is very important against, Hepatitis, and other rare, yet deadly diseases, such as measles, mumps, rubella, and pertussis.

Education regarding: safe and proper sanitation practices; hand washing and personal hygiene; maintaining trash in designated areas; staying active by volunteering/assisting and caring for other fellow Haitian children and neighbors; clearing and cleaning out clutter and using available resources to cook and keep foods in safe places that are clean; dry and free from infestations of bugs; clearing out puddles of water that attract mosquitoes; and assigning an adequate amount of people per shelter or tent in order to not overcrowd any particular living/sleeping quarters; and lastly educated patients on the first sign of diarrheal disease and to seek medical attention in order to contain the disease.

Secondary Prevention nursing Interventions: secondary prevention would occur during the acute stage of the disaster. These interventions of course would differ depending on the type and scope of the disaster. Generally, the goal of secondary prevention intervention is to decrease the deleterious effects of the disaster on individuals and the community. In the type of disaster where there’s the possibility of many casualties, several types of activities will take place simultaneously.

Police, fire, and other first responders will be conducting search-and-rescue operations as well as security operations. To provide help for as many people as possible, triage activities will be taking place in the field as well as in emergency departments. If proper planning occurred prior to the disaster, casualties would be transported to many different institutions in an effort to avoid any one institution being overwhelmed. Hospitals are often perceived as a safe haven. A sound hospital disaster plan will include plans for how to manage non injured survivors of disasters. Finding a place away from the chaos to provide supportive care is desirable.

Aside from providing care to the physically injured, secondary prevention strategies would also address decreasing the long-term emotional affects of trauma. As stated previously, how individuals cope with trauma depends on a myriad of factors. Lastly, secondary prevention strategies would also address the immediate community education needs. People need to be educated about the signs and symptoms of stress reactions and the available community resources where they can receive help. It’s important to teach people to develop healthy coping strategies, such as seeking support from family and friends, joining a support group, practicing relaxation techniques, and taking care of their physical health. (See “Available Web resources.)

Tertiary prevention strategies are interventions that are designed to meet the long-term needs of individuals and the community after the disaster has been resolved. The required types and scope of tertiary services will largely be determined by the type and scope of the disaster. There will be a certain amount of people who’ll need long-term services. Experts suggest a need for long-term treatment strategies that include individual, group, and family therapy; effective pharmacotherapy; as well as short and long term hospitalization and rehabilitation. Implementing programs that foster healing is another important tertiary intervention. Providing places for people to speak with others about their feelings is beneficial to healing.

It’s important to provide programs that teach people about stress responses, normal and abnormal coping strategies, and when and how to seek help. Parenting programs can help mothers and fathers learn how to provide support to their children and also to recognize symptoms of stress response. There are four phase, the Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery. These prevention interventions would be started as early as the 1st phase, and throughout 4th phase. I would enroll the collaboration of the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), the Red Cross and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). I would also call on charitable organizations such as the catholic charities, to come in and help.