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Background
A recent outbreak of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa presents Ebola as a global health issue, which requires concerted efforts of diverse health care systems across the world to tackle. In August 2014, the World Health Organization declared Ebola as a global health issue, which prompted health care systems globally to undertake emergency responses such as preparedness, reporting, and surveillance along with other responses (Gostin, Lucey, & Phelan, 2014). Therefore, Canadian Nurses Associations (CNA) should formulate emergency measures so that it can aid the Canadian health care system in responding to cases of Ebola in time to avert epidemic scenarios experienced in West Africa.
The Ebola epidemic is a global problem because it is a highly contagious disease with a high rate of mortality, yet it has no licensed medications or vaccines. According to Wiwanitkit (2014), the occurrence of the epidemic in West Africa shows that Ebola has the potential of causing a worldwide pandemic. Once it has infected an individual, the mortality rate of Ebola is very high because 55% or more of patients die (Gostin et al., 2014). Such a high rate of mortality shows that Ebola has the capacity to exterminate populations in epidemic and pandemic regions. Given that Ebola is an emerging viral disease, there are no licensed medications for its treatment or vaccines for its prevention (Gostin et al., 2014). Therefore, the aforementioned reasons elucidate why Ebola is a global health problem, which CNA needs to address.
The Ebola epidemic is linked to global forces because it is a viral disease, which spread easily across populations. Laupland and Valiquette (2014) state that globalization forces such as international travel and trade provide avenues through which Ebola can spread and engulf the whole world. In a bid to minimize the role of globalization forces in the transmission of Ebola, most countries issued travel advisories and undertook screening of people at the entry and exit points such as airports, ports, and borders. According to World Health Organization (2014), although Ebola started in Guinea, travelers spread it into Nigeria, Sierra Leon, and Liberia. Therefore, enhanced international travel and movement of products are global forces that promote the spread of Ebola, and thus, CNA should check global movement of people.
Ebola has significant health implications has it requires health care systems to equip their laboratories with advanced diagnostic equipment, acquire protective equipment for healthcare providers, construct isolation and quarantine units, train healthcare providers, and undertake safe burial of the dead (World Health Organization, 2014). Diagnosis of Ebola requires advanced diagnostic methods such as electron microscopy, enzyme-linked immunesorbent assay, and polymerase chain reaction. Given that Ebola is contagious, healthcare providers need protective equipment so that they can serve patients well without acquiring Ebola infection. To contain the spread of Ebola among populations, isolation and quarantine units are necessary for healthcare providers to deliver supportive care and monitor prognosis of patients closely. Gostin et al. (2014) state that training of healthcare providers is central in the containment of Ebola because they offer supportive care and shield the general populations from acquiring Ebola from patients.
Outbreak of Ebola reduces accessibility to healthcare in developing countries, as medical centers do not have essential equipment, have untrained healthcare providers, and lack isolation and quarantine units. Essentially, Ebola creates global health inequity because developed countries have enhanced capacity to handle cases of Ebola, while developing countries have basic capacity. Gostin et al. (2014) assert that Ebola overwhelmed West African countries because they have fragile health care systems, which do not have the capacity to handle healthcare emergencies. The assertion implies that developed countries are in a better position to handle Ebola than developing countries. Essentially, the global issue of Ebola epidemic is essential to nursing because nurses provide supportive care in isolation and quarantine units.
Policies and Actions to Address Ebola
The policy of case management is central in the prevention and control of Ebola outbreak. According to Public Health Agency of Canada (2014), case management comprise measures such as identification of Ebola cases, isolation of patients, provision of supportive care, contact tracing, quarantine, and safe burial practices. The policy of screening of people at entry and exit points such as airports, ports, and borders is an essential measure aimed at preventing global transmission of Ebola. Kalra et al. (2014) state that screening of travelers at exit and entry points has proved to be effective in prevention of Ebola from spreading from epidemic regions in West Africa. In essence, screening for Ebola is an active surveillance strategy that enables prompt response to cases of Ebola. Restriction of flights to West African countries, which have cases of Ebola, is a policy that aims to prevent the spread of Ebola via travelers. Bogoch et al. (2015) state that air travel restrictions to West African countries aided in the control and prevention of Ebola from spreading to different countries. Other policies involved are training of healthcare providers on how to use protective equipment when administering supportive care and education of people on how to protect themselves from acquiring Ebola from infected family members.
Basing on the aforementioned policies, global community should develop evidence-based guidelines of case management, which would enable healthcare providers to diagnose Ebola, isolate patients, offer supportive care, trace contact persons, quarantine persons under investigation, and carryout burials. To prevent global spread of Ebola, global community should restrict flights to countries, which are prone to Ebola as a short-term intervention, and undertake active surveillance by screening travelers at entry and exit points such as airports, ports, and borders (Bogoch et al., 2015). Global community needs to train healthcare providers on how to offer supportive care and protect general population from acquiring Ebola. Since healthcare providers are at risk of acquiring Ebola from the patients, global community should provide them with protective equipment. Community education is also an important action that global community needs to undertake and enhance the capacity of communities to control and prevent the spread of Ebola.
The Canadian government needs to develop capacity to manage cases of Ebola by acquiring essential equipment, training of healthcare providers, constructing isolation and quarantine units, and educating communities on how to control and prevent Ebola. To prevent global spread of Ebola, the Canadian government should undertake active surveillance by screening people from Ebola prone regions. Given that Ebola is a contagious disease, the Canadian government needs to educate its citizens so that they can acquire relevant skills that are pertinent in control and prevention of Ebola. To provide comprehensive address to Ebola, the Canadian government can collaborate with international bodies such as World Health Organization, Canadian Medical Association, Canadian Red Cross, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by developing effective guidelines and protocols, which are applicable in the management, treatment, and prevention of Ebola. In 2014, the Canadian government sent healthcare workers under the umbrella of Canadian Red Cross, deployed Canadian Armed Forces, and offered financial assistance to West African (Government of Canada, 2014). Hence, the Canadian government plays a significant role in the control and prevention of Ebola globally.
Advocacy Plan for CNA
The purpose of the plan is to enhance capacity of nurses to handle cases of Ebola globally. The specific goal of the plan is to reduce healthcare inequalities that occur in the aspect of nursing capacity to handle cases of Ebola. Buseh, Stevens, Bromberg, and Kelber (2015) state that fragile health care systems of West African countries contributed to Ebola epidemic and death of nurses for they do not have the capacity to handle cases of Ebola. While developed countries have enhanced nursing capacity to handle infectious disease, developing countries lacks the appropriate nursing capacity (Gostin et al., 2014). In this view, the audience that CNA targets are the Canadian government, Canadian health care system, Public Health Agency of Canada, Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, International Council of Nurses, and World Health Organization.
To persuade the target audience, CNA should employ advocacy actions such as advertisement in the media, collaboration with stakeholders, legislative reforms, bureaucratic advocacy, and health advocacy (Canadian Medical Association, 2014). Failure to employ these advocacy actions has implications, as CNA will not be in a position to influence major stakeholders in addressing the global issue of Ebola. In line with these advocacy actions, CNA advises the Canadian government and other target audience to enhance nursing capacity by training nurses so that they can handle cases of Ebola effectively (Gostin et al., 2014). Moreover, CNA advises the Canadian government and other target audience to provide protective equipment to nurses because they are at risk of acquiring Ebola. Lack of trained healthcare providers and protective equipment comprise major challenges that hinder emergency responses in West Africa (Buseh et al., 2015). Failure to follow these advices by training nurses and equipping them with protective equipment will reduce the capacity of nurses to handle cases of Ebola, and thus, predisposes them and the general population to Ebola.
References
Bogoch, I., Creatore, M., Cetron, M., Brownstein, J., Pesik, N., Miniota, J., … Kahn, K. (2015). Assessment of the potential for international dissemination of Ebola virus via commercial air travel during the 2014 West African Outbreak. Lancet, 385(9962), 29-35.
Buseh, G., Stevens, E., Bromberg, M., & Kelber, T. (2015). The Ebola epidemic in West Africa: Challenges, opportunities, and policy priority areas. Nursing Outlook, 63(1), 30-40.
Canadian Medical Association. (2014). Ebola Virus Disease. Web.
Gostin, L., Lucey, D., & Phelan, A. (2014). The Ebola Epidemic: A global Health Emergency. Journal of American Medical Association, 312(11), 1095-1096.
Government of Canada. (2014). Government of Canada Announces Additional Support to Help Global Efforts to Fight Ebola in West Africa. Web.
Kalra, S., Kelkar, D., Galwankar, S., Papadimos, T., Stawicki, S., Arquilla, B., … Jahre, J. (2014). The emergence of Ebola as a global health security threat: From ‘lessons learned’ to coordinated multilateral containment efforts. Journal of Global Infectious Diseases, 6(4), 164-177.
Laupland, K., & Valiquette, L. (2014). Ebola Virus Disease. The Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases & Medical Microbiology, 25(3), 128-129.
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2014). Infection Prevention and Control Expert Working Group: Advice on Infection Prevention and Control Measures for Ebola Virus Disease in Healthcare Settings. Web.
Wiwanitkit, V. (2014). Ebola virus infection: What should be known? North American Journal of Medical Sciences, 6(11), 549-552.
World Health Organization. Ebola Virus Disease. Web.
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