LAS3

DAVID, JOVERT ANDREI
LEARNING TASK 1: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Instructions: Briefly answer the questions. At a minimum, you must cite the journal, textbook,
article, and other reading materials. Make sure to cite any references you use. Use APA style
(7th edition) for proper citation format for your references. (see rubrics for scoring).
1. How can nurses help other nurses deal with the emotional aftermath of a disaster?
 You face numerous physical and emotional demands as a nurse in addition to working in
intricate medical settings. These demands increase when a natural disaster strikes. Social
support during key events might be a method to reduce emotions of stress and exhaustion. One
study found that nurses with social support from colleagues who dealt with the same emotional
demands in the same environment more effectively reduced their stress. In fact, peer support
like this can be the best defense against physical and emotional pain. Like social support,
debriefing is another approach to reduce stress during and after a traumatic event like a natural
disaster. Debriefing allows nurses or other healthcare professionals to pause, reflect, and
discuss on critical or traumatic events. While encouraging conversations about what caused the
distress and realistic solutions for the future, these reflective periods provide brief moments of
respite.
2. What types of strategies should be used to protect the emotional and psychological
well-being of victims?
I. Psychological First Aid addresses basic needs and reduces psychological distress by providing a
caring comforting presence, and education on common stress reactions. It empowers the
individual by supporting strengths and encouraging existing coping skills. It also provides
connections to natural support networks, and referrals to professional services when needed.
II. Psychological First Aid is tool that each of us can use to reduce our stress level. By
understanding your stress reactions and utilizing Psychological First Aid principles, you can
enhance resilience in yourself, your family, workplace, and community.
III. Psychological First Aid is designed for delivery by mental health and other disaster response
workers who provide early assistance to affected children, families, and adults as part of an
organized disaster response effort. These providers may be imbedded in a variety of response
units, including first responder teams, incident command systems, primary and emergency
health care, school crisis response teams, faith-based organizations, Community Emergency
Response Teams (CERT), Medical Reserve Corps, the Citizens Corps, and other disaster relief
organizations.
IV. Psychological First Aid includes basic information-gathering techniques to help providers make
rapid assessments of survivors’ immediate concerns and needs, and to implement supportive
activities in a flexible manner.
V. Psychological First Aid relies on field-tested, evidence-informed strategies that can be provided
in a variety of disaster settings.
VI. Psychological First Aid emphasizes developmentally and culturally appropriate interventions for
survivors of various ages and backgrounds.
VII. Psychological First Aid includes handouts that provide important information for youth, adults,
and families for their use over the course of recovery.
3. What are the common psychological reactions to bioterrorism? pandemics? natural
disasters?
I. Bioterrorism events may produce unique consequences compared to other manmade or natural
disasters. Fear-inducing threats of contamination, the likelihood of covert release of poisonous
agents, and the possibility of contagion may result in large numbers of adverse
emotional/psychological reactions. These “psychological casualties” of a bioterrorism event will
likely far outnumber the medical casualties; nevertheless, response planners have been
relatively slow to incorporate mental health considerations into terrorism response plans.
Psychological consequences can be classified as distress responses (e.g., insomnia, fear, sense of
vulnerability), behavioral changes (e.g., acting out, social withdrawal, increased consumption of
nicotine, alcohol, or other drugs) psychosomatic symptoms and outbreaks of medically
unexplained symptoms, psychiatric/psychological symptoms (e.g., sadness, irritability,
dissociation), and psychiatric illnesses such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder.
II. Pandemics It increases suicidal tendencies. Medical healthcare workers have increased
depression, anxiety, distress, and decreased sleep quality, with female nurses reporting the
most symptoms. COVID-19 patients have a high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD), depression, and poor quality of life. Depression, guilt, and grief are of long-term
concern. Pandemic caused severe anxiety, fear, and psychosocial distress worldwide.
Implementation of quarantines by nationwide lockdown had a major effect on mental health
disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and especially alcohol use disorder (AUD). The
psychosocial consequences of lockdown are isolation, freedom loss, and separation from loved
ones.
III. After a natural disaster, survivor may experience:
- Feelings of feelings of fear, anger, sadness, worry, numbness, or frustration
- Changes in appetite, energy, and activity levels
- Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
- Difficulty sleeping or nightmares
- Physical reactions, such as headaches, body pains, stomach problems, and skin rashes
- Worsening of chronic health problems
- Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs
4. Create a health education plan which will cover the topics that should be included in
predisaster planning for mental health services?

I. Community self-help and social support should be strengthened, for example by creating or re-
establishing community groups in which members solve problems collaboratively and engage in
activities such as emergency relief or learning new skills, while ensuring the involvement of
people who are vulnerable and marginalized, including people with mental disorders.
II. Psychological first aid offers first-line emotional and practical support to people experiencing
acute distress due to a recent event and should be made available by field workers, including
health staff, teachers or trained volunteers.
III. Basic clinical mental health care covering priority conditions (e.g. depression, psychotic
disorders, epilepsy, alcohol and substance abuse) should be provided at every health-care
facility by trained and supervised general health staff.
IV. Psychological interventions (e.g. problem-solving interventions, group interpersonal therapy,
interventions based on the principles of cognitive-behavioural therapy) for people impaired by
prolonged distress should be offered by specialists or by trained and supervised community
workers in the health and social sector.
V. Protecting and promoting the rights of people with severe mental health conditions and
psychosocial disabilities is especially critical in humanitarian emergencies. This includes visiting,
monitoring and supporting people at psychiatric facilities and residential homes.
VI. Links and referral mechanisms need to be established between mental health specialists,
general health-care providers, community-based support and other services (e.g. schools, social
services and emergency relief services such as those providing food, water and housing/shelter).
References
Meeker, Z. (2023, January 17). Nurses and Natural Disasters: 3 Ways To Cope With Stress. Nurse.com
Blog. https://www.nurse.com/blog/nurses-natural-disasters-3-ways-cope-stress/
World Health Organization: WHO. (2022, March 16). Mental health in emergencies.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-in-
emergencies#:~:text=Psychological%20interventions%20(e.g.%20problem%2Dsolving,the%20health
%20and%20social%20sector.
Kamble, S., Joshi, A., Kamble, R., & Kumari, S. (2022, October 1). Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic on
Psychological Status: An Elaborate Review. Cureus; Cureus, Inc. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.29820
Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event. (n.d.).

https://emergency.cdc.gov/coping/selfcare.asp#:~:text=Feelings%20of%20feelings%20of
%20fear,Difficulty%20sleeping%20or%20nightmares
Introduction and Overview | Psychological First Aid (PFA). (n.d.).

https://relief.unboundmedicine.com/relief/view/PTSD-National-Center-for-PTSD/1230010/all/
Introduction_and_Overview#:~:text=Psychological%20First%20Aid%20is%20an,aftermath%20of
%20disaster%20and%20terrorism.

LAS3

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

LAS3

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

LAS3

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

DAVID, JOVERT ANDREI

LEARNING TASK 1: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

3. What are the common psychological reactions to bioterrorism? pandemics? natural

predisaster planning for mental health services?

Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event. (n.d.).

Introduction and Overview | Psychological First Aid (PFA). (n.d.).

You might also like