Case Study
Chapter 17 – Disasters and Their Impact
Many opportunities are available for both student nurses
and experienced community health nurses to become
involved in emergency preparedness and response
efforts. A disaster is any event that causes a level of
destruction that exceeds the abilities of the affected
community to respond without assistance. Disasters
may be caused by natural or man-made/technologic
events and may be classified as multiple-casualty
incidents or mass-casualty incidents. Student nurses
are developing a plan on how to approach the upcoming
community-wide disaster drill.
1. What characteristics of disasters, including
causation, number of casualties, scope, and
intensity, should the student nurses consider?
2. What factors contribute to a community’s
potential for experiencing a disaster?
3. What are the four phases of disaster
management that must be included in the
student nurses planning for the drill?
4. Using the levels of prevention, what is the role of
the community health nurse in relations to acts
of chemical, biologic, or nuclear terrorism?
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