A Nurse's Touch: Prepare, Plan and Care for Ebola Worldwide: The Calm before the Storm
Rationale/Background: The Ebola virus causes viral hemorrhagic fever that affects multiple organ systems and is often accompanied by bleeding. The virus is named after the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where one of the outbreaks occurred in 1976.
Bubonic Plague (BP) was one of the most feared diseases of the ancient and medieval worlds. Victims of the BP were found in poor districts. They lived in the slum areas of London, invested with rats or someone who had the disease. Individuals infected by BP were locked in their homes for forty days and nights. A red cross was painted on the door to warn others of the plight of those in the house. No one was allowed in except ‘nurses’ who were local women with no training but got paid to visit the homes of plague victims to see their disease progression and to take them food. Many of these nurses were condemned for their deeds.
Like the plague, the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa occurs in countries recovering from civil wars, economic upheaval, and where approximately 85% of the population lives below the international poverty line. The EVD outbreak is global threat and of particular concern that many medical personnel are being infected, with nurses who have close contact with patients at particular risk. Similar to the nurses condemned for caring for the first recorded outbreak of BP in 542–543. The first nurse diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. is being attributed to breaching the standard infections disease protocol recommended by the CDC. WHO is seeking 600 doctors and at least 1,000 nurses to dispatch to Africa to counter the epidemic. But with 301 health workers known to be infected with the virus - almost half of whom have died- finding volunteers will be difficult.
Brief description of the best practice: The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science School of Nursing’s Global Health Initiative (CDU-GHI) includes health professionals with a mission to globally serve underprivileged populations and provide healthcare, education, and disease prevention. They collected sterile medical equipment from hospitals and home care agencies, and pharmacies and took them to Ghana to help prepare for any impending cases of Ebola.
Outcomes: While in Ghana universal precautions and hand washing techniques was taught to health care professionals and participants built their capacity to control EVD. These include surveillance and data management; infection prevention and control; case management; laboratory sample collection and transportation, social mobilization, communication techniques and development of messages; logistics and proper use of Personal Protection Equipment and preparation of response and preparedness plans.
Conclusions/Implications: Education/training of EVD among healthcare personnel globally is important for ensuring that prevention/control measures are understood and practiced properly to prevent/control and protect the health care providers and population worldwide.