Assignment

In this assignment, you will analyze a potential disaster in which the community you reside should prepare. Some possibilities are catastrophic fires, floods, toxic releases, or certain disease outbreaks.

Using the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and Internet sources, research your community, its organization, and its potential for disasters, giving special attention to emerging issues discussed in this course. Then, based on your research, write a paper that details your analysis. Your paper must include the following parts:

Part 1: Community Description

In this section, you will write a one-page description of your community. In your description, include the following:

• Describe the demographics (gender, ethnicity, socio-economic) and geography (location and environmental features).

• Describe the assets of this community. Refer to both internal and external resources.

• Identify the multiple levels of government and the health services that would be expected to react to a disaster. At the smallest level of government, which has health services, find the names of health officials, their titles, and their supervising agencies (e.g., school district, mayor's office, county, etc.).

• Describe the type of disaster that could happen in this community.

• Explain why this type of disaster is a possibility for this community. Make sure to include pertinent ethnographic and epidemiologic factors.

Part 2: A Disaster-Preparedness Plan

In this section, you will propose a disaster-preparedness plan for potential future disasters. In your plan, include your responses to the following:

• Propose preparedness guidelines for community health officials. Include guidelines for the following:

o Public education on both the potential disaster and what individuals can do to prepare.

o Communication guidelines for families, communities (i.e., neighborhoods), and government entities.

• Explain ways in which both health agencies and health delivery services might be affected by this type of disaster. Consider such things as the need for quarantine or evacuation, supplies and logistics, inter and intra-agency communications, etc.

• Justify how this preparedness plan benefits the community. Make sure to address health access, quality, safety, and other factors of public health performance.

Part 3: A Disaster-Responsiveness Plan

In this section, you will create a disaster-responsiveness plan for local health officials. In your plan, include your responses to the following:

• Discuss probable roles for health departments and related resources in the recovery phase following the critical event and the immediate community response.

• Propose an assessment and indicate the type of data that would need to be collected and explain how it would be beneficial to recovery efforts.

• Develop an internal and external communication plan for public health agencies and explain how the communication plan would improve responsiveness, allow for shared information, and provide physical and mental recovery needs.

• Justify how this preparedness plan benefits the community. Make sure the planning allows for flexibility and decision authority, but adheres to principles of health access, quality, safety, and other factors of public health performance.

Write an 10-page paper in Word format. Make sure to write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Include citations in text and at the end of the document in the correct APA format.