The institutional affiliation
Nurses' Experiences of Ethical Preparedness for Mass Health Emergencies and Healthcare Disasters: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Evidence
Healthcare ethics has been of higher importance as long as healthcare practice has existed. It is first necessary to explain that healthcare ethics is regarded as moral principles that are commonly considered as allowable and reasonable by the society. However, in spite of a universally stable set of ethical standards that direct the healthcare industry, there are many cases of these values on the verge of being violated. For instance, it is extremely possible that a medical worker will face an extraordinary situation that requires high performance of reaction, solicitude, attention and custody.
The other point which the professor differs on is that behaving ethically in extreme or stress conditions can be problematical for nurses because of their unawareness what right and wrong thing to do is. In addition, the article also poses a question how people who provide medical services can be ready for ethical responses in extraordinary situations and if it is potentially practical for nurses to prepare for future public casualty events in advance?
It should also be noted that nurses who are engaged in the disastrous scenario are tend to think that they are unable to provide the same level of care as they used to. Moreover, events show that people who are facing danger conditions will make moral compromises that are considered as unthinkable. In the case when an emergency is only progressing, a prompt decision should be made anyway. That is why the author emphasized the issue of how much personal risk and self-sacrifice can rationally be expected from nurses during a healthcare emergency or disaster involving any other public catastrophic events. At the same time it is true to say that ethical preparedness is uncertain because of quite considerable obstacles of its realization. Additionally, Johnstone determined the importance of understanding of the necessity, role and influence of ethics structures aiming at guiding nurses to conduct a decision-making process in the public health emergencies and disasters (Eckenwiler & Hunt, 2014).
The article acknowledged that there is a distinct break in the literature on nurses’ involvement in ethical readiness to cope with mass healthcare emergencies and disasters, and the ethical difficulties they face during such events. Indeed, it might be argued that this article highlights that it should be paid more attention to the necessity for ethical deliberations in emergency preparedness, planning and performance of nurses.
Although, it is suggested that the future research into emerging issues is strongly necessitated and that the outcomes of the further research will be used to produce the evidence-based policy and practice in the emergency disaster management.
Counterterrorism, Ethics, and Global Health
The confluence of foreign policy, national security and health has been investigated in a number of scientific works. The article entitled Counterterrorism, Ethics, and Global Health written by Lisa Eckenwiler and Matthew Hunt raises the problem of the ethical issues that are environing the global health influence on present counterterrorism practice and policy (Johnstone & Turale, 2014). Besides, the article reviews a variety of damages to health of population which are allocable to counterterrorism operations.
In the article Eckenwiler and Hunt describe an extensive trend in the war called the militarization of healthcare which medical services are integrated in with warfare. In order to exemplify this issue, they cite the ulterior operation comprising a vaccination plan that led to the homicide of Osama bin Laden, which promoted fear and suspicion among residents in need of health services.
The damages related to counterterrorism also aggravate global health unfairness. The authors of the article discern a great moral suffering and anxiety among humanitarian and healthcare workers who are professionally dedicated to expression, neutralism and freedom are treated as instruments in the war on terror. Moreover, counterterrorism practices and policies can have health impacts that were not planned, especially where health programs are appointed to membership in the countries where healthcare systems are tense and the residents’ health indexes are poor (Johnstone & Turale, 2014). For instance, the inhabitants of the countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan and Yemen are more unreliably inserted as an outcome of the war on terror.
More generally, it seems hard to deny that healthcare organizations and settings are essential elements of emergency performance in extensively reported events of earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, terrorist attacks, etc. Furthermore, most healthcare services have been imperfectly prepared and often deficiently developed for working with public casualty events.
References
Eckenwiler, L. & Hunt, M. (2014). Counterterrorism, Ethics, and Global Health. Hastings Center Report, 44(3), 12-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hast.308
Johnstone, M. & Turale, S. (2014). Nurses' experiences of ethical preparedness for public health emergencies and healthcare disasters: A systematic review of qualitative evidence. Nursing & Health Sciences, 16(1), 67-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12130
