Brief Description of the Natural Disaster

The natural disaster that I chose is the 2020 wildfires in California. Wildfires have
been a common occurrence in California. However, in 2020, the state experienced more than
8,400 wildfires that destroyed around 4 million acres of land (Keeley & Syphard, 2021). Six
of the state’s biggest wildfires occurred during the year (Keeley & Syphard, 2021). Thus,
California’s 2020 wildfires were by far the worst in the states, and indeed, America’s history.

Health consequences of the disaster at population level

The wildfires not only led to the destruction of natural habitats, life, and property, but
also caused major short and long-term health risks due in part to accelerated levels of air
pollution. In particular, there was a dramatic increase in the levels of PM 2.5 , very small
particles that can cause lasting damage to the immune system, liver, kidneys, heart, and lungs
(Rosenthal, Stover & Haar, 2021). In addition to the many health problems that result from
breathing toxic air, the fires were also reported to have caused serious posttraumatic stress
among affected residents, especially those who were left homeless by the fires (Rosenthal,
Stover & Haar, 2021). They also reduced access to healthcare especially among groups that
need it the most as it forced many health facilities to close down. In general, wildfires have
been found to lead to various human health problems that include increase in asthma attacks,
increase cardiovascular problems, sore eyes and throats, coughing, wheezing, and shortness
of breath.

How the concept of population health and epidemiology could have been used to assess
the health outcomes after the disaster

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According to the concept of population health and epidemiology, the risk of illness for
individuals should not be considered in isolation from the disease risk for the general
population that the individual belongs to (Riegelman, 2019). As noted, the California
wildfires led to an increase in various respiratory and cardiovascular ailments as well as
stress. When assessing individuals suffering from various respiratory ailments and stress in
the state, the approach of population health and epidemiology requires one to take into
consideration the existing distribution risk of such ailments resulting from regular wildfires.
Such an analysis would have revealed a spike in certain respiratory and cardiovascular
ailments due to the conditions created by the wildfires.

Explain how the concepts of Population health and epidemiology could have been used
to mitigate negative health effects following the disaster

Using the concept of population health and epidemiology, the key question that is
asked when determining mitigation measures of a given condition is why the affected
population has the existing distribution of the risk under consideration (Riegelman, 2019).
Once this question is answered, it becomes easy to develop effective mitigation measures that
lead to health improvement of the general population.

With regards to wildfires in California, population health and epidemiology could
have been used to prepare the population against the enhanced risk of respiratory diseases in
the area. For instance, there would have been more aggressive campaigns against behaviors
that worsen respiratory ailments, such as smoking. There would also have been more public
education on the use of face masks during disaster situations.

Specific leadership roles that nurses have in mitigating negative health outcomes
following disasters

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When disasters occur, nurses play important leadership roles in mitigating negative
health outcomes. One of the leadership roles is making treatment decisions for patients whose
numbers often greatly exceed available personnel and medical supplies (Shaw & Kanbara,
2022). They also have to do all they can to protect the patients until they receive help. For
instance, with regards to California wild fires, nurses have to protect the patients until they
are evacuated to safer places. Other important leadership roles that nurses play during
disasters include educating the public on the measures that they can take to protect
themselves from adverse effects of the disaster. In the case of wildfires, nurses could educate
the public on the importance of putting on face masks to reduce chances of contracting
respiratory ailments.

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References

Keeley, J. E., & Syphard, A. D. (2021). Large California wildfires: 2020 fires in historical
context. Fire Ecology, 17(1), 1-11.

Riegelman, R. (2019). Population Health: A Primer. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Rosenthal, A., Stover, E., & Haar, R. J. (2021). Health and social impacts of California
wildfires and the deficiencies in current recovery resources: An exploratory
qualitative study of systems-level issues. PloS one, 16(3), e0248617.

Shaw, R., & Kanbara, S. (2022). Global Requirement to Disaster Nursing. In Disaster
Nursing, Primary Health Care and Communication in Uncertainty (pp. 13-20).
Springer, Cham.