The position of a community health nurse has many obstacles including the transmission of communicable diseases. While there are many that exist in local jurisdictions, global communicable diseases may pose a threat for the world. Especially for people who travel abroad are presumed to be at higher risk to contract a communicable disease. For instance, SARS is a respiratory illness that could potentially lead to many health issues for an individual but can also be transmitted to others. If this illness is identified in a particular community the health care professionals to include the community nurse should be able to analyze the epidemiology, cause and manifestations of the disease, as well as the mode of transmission. The educated community nurse should have the knowledge base to deal with the outbreak of SARS. In order to meet the community needs as it relates to a communicable disease, the community nurse must take on specific measures. They must identify the disease along with its manifestations of symptoms and effective interventions to stop the spread. The causative agent for SARS is usually the Corona Virus, which is known for attacking a person’s respiratory system. The most common symptoms of SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, are headache, body aches, muscle aches, and a fever greater than 104 degrees. It is possible for a person too have diarrhea, coughing, and shortness of breath. It is usually spread through bodily secretions, such as coughing and sneezing. Unfortunately some locations were affected by this respiratory illness prior to its identification and precautions could be put in place.

In February 2003 in Hanoi an enormous amount of unconventional pneumonia, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, also known as SARS, emerged. There were certain geographical locations that were identified to have numerous cases, such as Hong Kong and Singapore Toronto. The death rate was reported to be over 100 in April of 2003. The next month more than eight thousand cases were reported with a mortality rate exceeding seven hundred (Timeline of SARS Outbreak). The highest death rate amongst any community was reported in the United States and Thailand. This was alarming to the World Health Organization which prompted this organization to develop warnings for travelers that were going to those areas. This outbreak of SARS also prompted health care officials to take precautions related to this respiratory illness. Unfortunate, after warnings were developed, the transmission of SARS began to infect non health care personnel. The intervention of rapidly identifying this issue along with abiding by health warnings and those health recommendation made by World Health Organization, the number of cases decreased tremendously. Moreover, a few months later the announcement was made by the World Health Organization that SARS was under control (SARS Reference 2006). Together the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control initiated a center for Emergency Operations. These teams of professionals were able to respond to emergencies around the clock until the end of the SARS outbreak. Furthermore, The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene were quickly educated and what measures that would be effective for containment. The team work allowed Health Care official the ability to disseminate information to the public and health care workers about the outbreak of SARS and included signs and symptoms to look out for. They also began to discourage travelers because of the fear to be exposed to the corona virus. During this time, community health care professionals started having meetings and generating educational material to the public.

The impact of SARS was devastating in some geographical areas, for instance in Hong Kong the highest rate of SARS was reported. The epidemic of this severe acute respiratory syndrome had many effects on these communities including psychological and economic effects. The transmission of SARS in Canada seemed to be isolated to health care professionals and others who came in contact with infected people. On the other hand, in Taiwan SARS was limited to family members. Moreover, the disease instilled fear in the population of many communities as they dealt with frustration because of the social economic impact. The countries that were dealing with these infections were economically suffering as well. This was related travel restrictions that were associated with health threats. Many accolades went to Singapore and its leader for their prompt identification of the SARS outbreak.
In some cases, it was reported that older people and services for the elderly were stigmatized due to the suspicion of SARS. There was also discrimination against people with the infection along with families of infected patients. There was economic impact on the countries that reported cases of SARS due to travel restrictions to such countries due to the health threats.

A community health nurse plays a major role in determining specific factors related to an outbreak such as SARS. Guidelines must be established that would guide the clinicians to determine characteristics and the epidemiology. They must also have the ability to identify signs and symptoms, mode of transmission, as well as necessary isolation precautions. After these factors have been identified the next step is to determine effective interventions by completing assessments and re-evaluations to determine the most appropriate plan of care. An active outbreak of SARS can be devastating to any community. It could be particularly hard to fight for the elderly and compromised patients.

As a community nurse the potential for a communicable disease affecting your community is possible. Suspicion can be raised especially if the nurse is aware of a family that has recently traveled. Once a confirmed case of SARS has been identified, it should be reported immediately to the local health department and then the Center for Disease. Simultaneously the patient must be isolated and quarantined. This intervention should also include any family members that may have been in close contact with the infected patient. The next step would be to establish a way to communicate with the public about the active case of SARS in the community; ideally notification would occur via media alerts. The public should be educating on the signs and symptoms to look out for as well as interventions that they should follow to prevent contracting the disease. The community nurse should also put together advisory for travelers to ensure the public to protect themselves accordingly.

In any given community the public rely on news broadcasting and media to communicate health issues. This communication identifies alerts and health concerns for the general

population related to poor quality index. For instance, a notification for poor air quality index could possibly pose a risk for people who suffer with respiratory illness, such as asthma. The community nurse should be prepared with educational tools and interventions for these incidences. The nurse should supply quality education to people who suffer from asthma. For example, educating on the importance of reducing their exposure to outside when the air quality is not good. People should be educated on staying aware by watching reports that are broadcasted and plan their schedules in such a way to avoid the outdoors as much as possible. If it is impossible to avoid outside exposure the public should then be educated on the use of emergent medications. Most asthmatics have prescribed fast acting inhalers just in case an emergency arouses such as these situations. The community nurse should also educate these patients on properly hydrating self and breathing techniques. The fluid intake is important for the balance of fluid and electrolytes and the breathing in through your nose helps to filter some of the pollutants.

Ozone and Your Patients' Health
Training for Health Care Providers

References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention: SARS. (2005). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/factsheet.htm

Ozone and your Patient’s Health: Training for Healthcare Providers (2014). Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/apti/ozonehealth/tools.html

SARS Reference. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.sarsreference.com/sarsref/preface.htm

Timeline of SARS Outbreak. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.gartner.com/pages/story.php.id.3557.s.8.jsp