Community Health and Disease Prevention

Running head: COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 1
COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION
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COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 2
Introduction
In cases of health emergency, it is important to involve and engage the
community in order to minimize casualties and injuries that may result from the
emergency situation. Involving all the stakeholders who could help in handling the
situation is very critical. The processes involved in emergency response
include;engagement of stakeholders, consultation, participation,
organization ,capacity building, action and empowerment (Marcinko & Hetico, 2017).
This report discusses all the steps that are followed in responding to the outbreak of
Ebola virus and also discusses the rationale for using the bottom-up in managing this
emergency situation.
Engagement
The medical team has to communicate with community leaders who are
crucial in communicating with the locals on the outbreak of the virus. Community
engagement will also require the assistance of local administrators such as chiefs and
major social groups who will help spread word on the outbreak of the disease (Ginter,
Duncan & Swayne, 2013). Additionally, community health workers and volunteers
play a great role in engaging with the local community and educating them on the
symptoms of Ebola virus and how to avoid the spread of the disease.Hospitals and
other health providers in the region need to be put on high alert and given the right
and necessary resources to handle the virus (Rowitz, 2014).
Consultation
The consultation step involves getting in contact with relevant health
professionals or bodies which could play a major role in the control of the disease. In

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 3
order to respond accordingly to the Ebola crisis, the virus, the team needs to
coordinate with the Ministry of Health. The ministry of health will be consulted
before major decisions and actions are taken. Additionally, partners such as
NGO`S,WHO,Red Cross and other local organizations will be consulted when
making some specific decisions which are relevant to a particular partner (Mack,
Snair & Mundaca-Shah, 2012) The response team can also seek advice by consulting
scientists and medical researchers who are not located in the country to give
professional advice and guidance to the team on the ground.
Participation
The entire globe need to participate in the emergency response to Ebola virus.
The Ebola virus spreads really fast and hence it is very critical that every person who
is vulnerable to participate in the process. There are some of the people and groups
that should participate in the emergency process in order to overcome the pandemic.
Some of the parties that should participate in the process include the local community,
the ministry of health, WHO as well as other regional bodies and organizations that
could offer financial and human resource support (Milstead,2013). Every group that
participates directly or indirectly should be updated on the progress of the process.
Additionally, the local people have to be offered training on how to handle people
who have died as a result of the disease. Law enforcement officers should also be
involved in this process in order to ensure that the quarantine laws and processes are
adhered to.
Organization
Organization involves close coordination of all the processes and activities of
dealing with the epidemic. Organization of emergency response should be central. All
the orders should come from a central place in order to ensure that there is no conflict