Mother Nature came again, rising from deep within the earth. Her strike so swift, seismic, and strong. A brief but lasting moment in time; Lives swallowed up, devastation everywhere.
Once again, Mother Nature has tested the tiny island of Haiti and her people. The questions are easy to ask but difficult to answer. How are the Haitian people able to survive tropical storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other unrest, repeatedly, while existing in unremitting poverty? The January earthquake that leveled the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere presented another opportunity for the more fortunate to demonstrate the resourcefulness of the human spirit in times of crisis. Concern for saving lives and preventing the spread of diseases created a major public outpouring of support. World leaders, rescue workers, public health experts, healthcare professionals, the media, and individuals mobilized efforts and started down the long road of rescue, recovery, and rebuilding.
"Me" becomes "we"
The concept of "collective resilience" can be applied to the state of affairs in Haiti. After interviewing survivors of the 2005 bombings in London, researchers1 described several psychological components of collective resilience, acknowledging that the phenomenon did not suggest an absence of distress, suffering, or other symptoms. The researchers also noted that collective resilience was not unique to the situation in London, stating "the processes of mutual aid in adversity are to some extent universal".1 The researchers argued that the notion of resilience in unstructured crowds countered psychosocial vulnerability (selfishness, mass panic) with the human capacity for collective survival (help, unity) in the face of disasters. Fears of death fostered a sense of unity and a spirit of altruism among the survivors, leading many to take risks to assist strangers-a change from the idea of "me" to "us".1 Both ends of this spectrum have been evident in the images displayed on TV during the aftermath of the earthquake. We can only hope that in time, greater stability will return.
Nurses respond
Efforts to meet the healthcare needs of the earthquake survivors are occurring despite seemingly insurmountable challenges. The World Health Organization2 (WHO) quickly issued a statement of Haiti's immediate health priorities soon after the devastation was reported. These needs included access to surgical, medical, and emergency obstetric care; staff to manage traumatic injuries; mass immunization campaigns for measles/rubella and tetanus; communicable disease surveillance and response; malnutrition management; and continuity of care for chronic diseases.
Despite a desperately compromised physical infrastructure, WHO also made public health communication a priority, noting that the absence of shelter, safe water, and sanitation would influence health status. The newly founded National Nurses United (http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/) in the United States also rallied with a quick response. The union's relief arm, the Registered Nurse Response Network, recruited and prepared thousands of nurses for relief efforts. For the initial group, priority was given to nurses who had disaster response training, spoke the language of the country (Haitian Creole or French), and had trauma, emergency, or pediatric experience. The presence of these nurses has made a positive difference in the lives of survivors.
A moment in time is all it takes to transform a state of relative stability to one of unexpected devastation. The disaster in Haiti is neither the first nor the last the world will see. One constant besides the human spirit to survive is the power of nurses, as individuals and as a profession.
Jamesetta Newland, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FAANP, FNAP
Editor-in-Chief [email protected]
REFERENCES