All Hazard Approach
Emergency management is a collaborative and interdisciplinary action involving a wide range of stakeholders in all phases of disaster cycles: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Mitigation focuses on preventing and reducing the likelihood of a disaster or the severity of the event’s impact. For example, in a hospital, mitigation assessment is done by assessing the hospital’s capability to operate and provide services during an emergency or threat.
Activity 2
Older people are now at risk of extreme heat risks. Below is one of the news reports covering the topic.
Study finds over 200 million seniors face extreme heat risks in coming decades : NPR
For activity 2, identify an older person you are familiar with. Consider where they live. Do you think their house is ready for extreme heat waves? What can they do to mitigate the risks?
Case Stories
You can also use the case stories to answer the questions from Activity 2.
The second cycle, preparedness, focuses on planning and training for events that cannot be mitigated. The planning can include developing comprehensive standard operating procedures, training workforces, establishing communication plans and anticipating the needs of vulnerable groups, including older people. For the next activity, use the event above and see the preparedness tips or plans in the community. Here is a link to Nova Scotia’s safety tips for heat wave preparedness and British Columbia’s heat and drought preparedness.
Activity 3
Consider the older people in Activity 2. Do you think they are ready for extreme heat waves? What can they do to mitigate the risk? What can you do to help them be more prepared?
Case Stories
What can you do as a healthcare practitioner to help the older person in the case story be more prepared for heat waves?
In the third cycle, response activities aim to reduce a disaster’s impacts (e.g., mortality, morbidity, and costs). During the response cycle, essential services, including healthcare, must be maintained. For the next activity, instruct the students to compare the safety tips above and identify relevant and missing information for older people facing heat waves.
Activity 4
Here is the link to Nova Scotia’s Extreme Heat Safety Tips and British Columbia’s “Be Prepared for Extreme Heat and Drought.”
- Compare the safety tips from the two provinces and identify information relevant to the older person you identified from the previous activities.
- Is there any information missing from the tips?
- As a healthcare practitioner, what can you do to help them in facing heat exposure?
You can also use one of the case stories to answer the above questions.
The fourth cycle is the recovery phase, which includes any efforts to restore the situation to a semblance of normal. For example, after a heat wave, you might want to keep drinking enough fluid to maintain hydration, rest, cool down the house by opening the windows and blinds, and check after your family, friends, relatives and people at risk. You also might want to think about how the event went, what you could have done better during the event, and identify actions you can do to be more prepared for the next heat wave.
Activity 5
Self-reflection: who are the people at risk in your life that you must check after a disaster, such as a heat wave? Do they have enough support and resources to face an emergency or disaster?