Epidemiology in Public and Global Health
Understanding the occurrence, distribution, and mitigation measures of an outbreak is imperative in a bid to eradicate diseases. Healthcare workers need to be aware of the disease’s causal agents to determine an effective way to stop the agents, thus effectively halting the outbreak (Nwabuko, Nwamoh, & Chikezie, 2018). Moreover, knowing the people highly likely to contract the infection ensures that vulnerable individuals in society are protected, thus reducing the number of people suffering from the disease. Consequently, the mortality rate from the disease is also lower. All attempts to stop an outbreak can be rendered useless by environmental factors (Sagar, 2015). Having a grasp of the agents in nature that aggravate the disease provides communities with an opportunity to learn how to curb the surge of infections as often experienced during an outbreak. Still, nurses have a pivotal role to play in mitigating an epidemic. Reviewing research conducted increases knowledge on the epidemiology of the disease, thus improving health incomes for the public worldwide.
Many authors contributed to the article “Ebola Virus Epidemiology, Transmission, and Evolution during Seven Months in Sierra Leone.” The research published in 2015 identifies and analyses the causal agent of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. By studying genome sequencing in Ebola patients, the exploration can provide data that reveals more information about the transmission and evolution of the disease within seven months (Park et al., 2015). The authors analyze the genome sequences of 232 Ebola-infected individuals. Park et al. (2015) divulged the occurrence of many strains of Ebola, which are transmitted across the population. The transmission of various strains of the virus between hosts also reveals how the causal agent evolves when it is passed to different people.
Evidence shows that the Makona variant of the Ebola virus caused the disease outbreak that started in 2013 and ended two years later (Park et al., 2015). While Ebola spread within the West African region, in sierra leone after the first case was imported from Guinea, all other cases were local transmissions. Therefore, the country had human transmission of the disease, as opposed to zoonotic transmissions are witnessed in other countries. Consequently, high population areas were more likely to have more numbers of the disease.
Although various developed and developing countries experienced the Ebola outbreak, the worst-hit countries were from west Africa. The prevalence of the disease in the region is associated with poverty and substandard environmental sanitation (Nwabuko, Nwamoh, & Chikezie, 2018). People who traveled a lot were also more susceptible to contracting the virus. Additionally, a higher risk was identified for individuals who had close contact with people with the Ebola virus, whether alive or dead (Casey, 2015). Therefore, healthcare workers and other frontline workers had a higher infection risk.
Nurses are an integral piece of the robust healthcare system. In attempts to contain and manage the effects caused by the virus, the nurses have several roles. Since the ailment did not have a cure, supportive care is imperative to reduce fatalities (Sagar, 2015). Additionally, it is the responsibility of nurses to prevent the spread of the virus by ensuring that they don personal protective equipment when attending to patients (Casey, 2015). Failure to follow the set protocols can potentially result in increased infections and fatalities.
The mental and psychological effects of the disease are immense. Therefore, in addition to physical care provided, nurses in collaboration with counselors and mental health practitioners should ensure that Ebola patients receive psychotherapy to help them accept their condition (Sagar, 2015). When patients admit that they are infected, they will protect the people around them by allowing quarantine and isolation measures required to slow down the transmission of the disease.
Health promotion is essential to restore public health amid a disease outbreak. Addressing cultural practices and beliefs that impede the fight against the disease is necessary (Nwabuko, Nwamoh, & Chikezie, 2018). For instance, practices such as viewing dead bodies, visiting traditional healers as opposed to hospitals, and the creation of myths to demystify the disease should be discouraged. Educating the communities is a mitigation measure with the potential of reducing the number of infections.
Since many healthcare workers contracted the virus, establishing and streamlining protocols of care for patients on the onset of the disease would also have reduced the number of people who contracted the disease. Long working hours and fatigue meant that many of the healthcare workers were very tired, and following the set standards was difficult. Ensuring that the nurses were well taken care of is also part of mitigation strategies as nurses are more productive when on duty (Sagar, 2015). Also, the response period in an outbreak determines the spread of disease. Nurses should ensure that they provide a hotline that is answered round the clock as early into a health crisis as they can. Conducting household visits as opposed to patient’s reporting to the hospital will also reduce the transmission of the virus as the patient interacts only with people from their households, thus reducing the risk of transmission.
Controlling an outbreak requires healthcare workers to understand the cause, incidence, spread, and ways of controlling the disease in a bid to promote and maintain public health. The article by Park et al. provides insights into the epidemiology of the Ebola virus in sierra leone and delivers lessons on how to address an outbreak of that nature. Nursing care is an essential element in the outbreak response. Therefore, Nurses, in collaboration with other healthcare workers, should work in tandem to ensure that they mitigate and manage the outbreaks and their associated effects to promote global health.
References
Casey, D. (2015). A nurse’s obligations to patients with Ebola. Nursing2019, 45(11), 47-49.
Nwabuko, O. C., Nwamoh, U. N., & Chikezie, J. A. (2018). A Retrospective Review of Ebola Outbreak in West Africa: Social Determinants and Control Measures. Epidemiology: Open Access, 08(04). doi:10.4172/2161-1165.1000360
Park, D. J., Dudas, G., Wohl, S., Goba, A., Whitmer, S. L., Andersen, K. G., … & Winnicki, S. M. (2015). Ebola virus epidemiology, transmission, and evolution during seven months in Sierra Leone. Cell, 161(7), 1516-1526. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.06.007
Sagar, P. L. (2015). Nurses Leading the Fight Against Ebola Virus Disease. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 26(3), 322-326. doi:10.1177/1043659615574326