Disaster preparedness course helps nurses reach vulnerable people

The Wisconsin Center for Nursing, Milwaukee, developed a Nurses Respond Now training course to prepare working nurses to understand the needs of vulnerable populations during public health disasters. More than 90 percent of participants said the course enabled them to explain the specific impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable communities, use the social determinants of health as a framework to analyze community needs and provide care in spite of their own unconscious biases. Participants said they would like their organizations to develop specialized teams tasked with addressing the social determinants of health or new resources front-line nurses can access. “The nurse has a specific role in responding to public health emergencies, and if nurses are prepared, the hospitals and communities they are a part of will do a better job,” said Barbara Nichols, MS, RN, executive director of the Wisconsin Center for Nursing. (Campaign for Action blog, 7/5/22)