Introduction
Public health is a significant and complex phenomenon because various events can affect it. One of them occurred on February 3, when “a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in eastern Ohio” (Hauser, 2023, para. 1). The incident was alarming because various hazardous elements, including vinyl chloride, Ethylhexyl acrylate, and butyl acrylate, were released, which could pollute the air, water, and soil (Hauser, 2023).
Hazardous Chemicals Released During the Incident
That is why a fundamental reason existed to believe that this situation would negatively affect people’s well-being, which made the government issue evacuation orders (Hauser, 2023). Since such cases can occur in the future, it is reasonable to analyze how such a crisis relates to public health. Incident management is associated with Assessment and Emergency Preparedness and Response, serves the local population, implies a secondary prevention type, relates to a Healthy People 2020 objective, and is informative for my professional career.
To begin with, one should explain that the crisis relates to a core public health function. Assessment, one of three functions, is responsible for collecting and analyzing information regarding people’s health and issues (Goodwin University, 2022). This function implies that health professionals are expected to monitor the environmental and health statuses to identify community threats and manage health problems (Goodwin University, 2022). This approach allows medical workers to determine disease, injury, or death trends and relate this data to potential risks and consequences. Regarding trail derailment, the given core function is significant because it helps analyze how the incident affects public health and what injuries or diseases result from the emergency.
A Core Public Health Function
In addition to that, the incident was associated with an essential public health service, Emergency Preparedness and Response. According to Zhao et al. (2021), this function is critical to current health care since it provides medical professionals with recommendations and guidelines during pandemics, natural disasters, chemical emergencies, and bioterrorism crises. In other words, this phenomenon implies that healthcare workers should be informed and trained on how to behave when a significant public health issue arises. The presented information demonstrates that this function directly refers to the crisis under analysis. Medical workers required specific skills and knowledge to deliver appropriate and high-quality assistance who suffered during and as a result of the incident.
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Response to the crisis denoted that numerous people required medical care. It is possible to generalize that the population served included the citizens of East Palestine, Ohio. However, one can divide the entire population into smaller groups. Healthcare professionals were expected to draw more attention to people with respiratory issues because the emergency resulted in more chemicals in the air. Furthermore, the elderly population required specific assistance because their health was more endangered, while evacuation procedures could result in additional challenges. That is why various population groups were served and needed specialized care following the trail derailment.
Populations Affected by the Crisis
A public health issue is typically associated with various types of prevention. In the case under analysis, secondary prevention means were preferred. According to Hauser (2023), the government and medical officials tried to identify health problems caused by the emergency. The focus on dangerous chemicals in the air, soil, and water could demonstrate what specific actions were needed to identify risks and protect public health. Since the crisis already occurred, the reasonable response was to minimize the harmful impact of this event on people and their health.
Secondary Prevention Efforts Following the Incident
Since such cases as trail derailment can occur in the future, society should be prepared for them. That is why a Healthy People 2030 objective can apply to the issue. This statement refers to objective PREP-D04, which raises the number of adults who have a disaster emergency plan in place. (Healthy People 2030, n.d.). The given objective stipulates that adults should have emergency plans and instructions for household members on what to do in a disaster (Healthy People 2030, n.d.). Hauser (2023) highlighted that the government evacuation resulted in uncertainty because people were forced to live in challenging conditions. That is why achieving the Healthy People 2030 objective is essential to avoid such adverse events in the future.
Relevant Healthy People 2030 Objective
The news article under analysis offers a few implications for me as a public health nurse. This crisis demonstrates that medical professionals should be prepared to act during emergencies because these skills can help save people’s lives and protect their health. For example, the importance of nurses was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, when these workers did their best to save patients (Manchikanti et al., 2021). The trail derailment again highlighted the need to have appropriate knowledge and qualifications.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the selected news article comments on the trail derailment that resulted in a significant public health issue. The crisis additionally addressed a core public health function and service. During the emergency management, a secondary prevention type was implemented to provide the local population, in general, and specific groups, in particular, with the required care. It is necessary to achieve the Healthy People 2030 objective to minimize the harmful impact of such events in the future while I can learn helpful information for my profession from such emergencies.
References
Goodwin University. (2022). What are the three core functions of public health? Web.
Hauser, C. (2023). After the Ohio train derailment: Evacuations, toxic chemicals, and water worries. The New York Time. Web.
Healthy People 2030. (n.d.). Increase the proportion of adults who have an emergency plan for disasters – PREP-D04. Web.
Manchikanti, L., Vanaparthy, R., Atluri, S., Sachdeva, H., Kaye, A. D., & Hirsch, J. A. (2021). COVID-19 and the opioid epidemic: Two public health emergencies that intersect with chronic pain. Pain and Therapy, 10, 269-286. Web.
Zhao, Y., Diggs, K., Ha, D., Fish, H., Beckner, J., & Westrick, S. C. (2021). Participation in emergency preparedness and response: A national survey of pharmacists and pharmacist extenders. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 61(6), 722-728. Web.