From Emergency to Disaster: The Necessity of Creating a Common Language in Disaster Management
From Emergency to Disaster: The Necessity of Creating a Common Language in Disaster Management
The Acting Head of the Health in Emergency and Disasters Educational Group at the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, by explaining the differences among emergency, disaster, and catastrophe, emphasized the necessity of establishing a common body of literature and language in crisis management. He stated: Strengthening specialized knowledge, reducing vulnerability, and enhancing nurses' resilience are among the most important strategies for minimizing losses and improving the health system's response to incidents.
According to the report from the university's web correspondent, Dr. Babak Farzin-nia, Acting Health in Emergency and Disasters Educational Group at the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, emphasizing that Iran requires specialized and up-to-date knowledge in the field of crisis management due to the diversity of natural and non-natural incidents, said: To correctly manage incidents, we must first reach a precise and common literature and definition of basic concepts so that we do not face operational confusion when a crisis occurs.
Explaining the fundamental differences in crisis levels, this university professor added: An emergency is a situation in which the event is manageable and controllable at a local level; however, when community health is jeopardized, and the resulting needs exceed existing capacities and local resources, we are facing a disaster. At a higher level, meaning catastrophe, we face the destruction of sensitive infrastructure that requires international assistance and large-scale intervention for reconstruction or control; a prominent example is the threats that, if not managed in a metropolis like Tehran, could reach catastrophic dimensions.
The Risk Formula and Risk Management Strategies
In another part of his speech, Dr. Farzin-nia addressed the scientific definition of Hazard, stating: Any physical phenomenon or human activity that has the potential to cause harm is a hazard. In contrast, vulnerability refers to the physical, social, economic, and environmental conditions that affect a society's exposure to hazards. We are dealing with the formula (Risk = Hazard × Vulnerability); therefore, risk management means reducing vulnerabilities and adopting strategies such as risk transfer, acceptance, reduction, and avoidance.
Nurses: Facilitators of Resilience
In the concluding part of his speech, he defined resilience as the ability of a system to successfully navigate difficult conditions, reach a better future, and achieve rehabilitation and development, considering the role of nurses as key in this process.
Dr. Farzin-nia clarified: As the front line of the health system, nurses play an undeniable role in enhancing system resilience. By increasing the resilience and awareness of nursing staff regarding crisis management, we can hope that in the face of incidents, the community's response is significantly improved and losses are minimized.
The conference concluded with the aim of enhancing the scientific and operational knowledge of nurses in incident and disaster management, relying on risk reduction in hospital environments.
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