NURS 9123 Epidemiology and Population Studies for Health Care Practice 2018 Assignment 3: Essay Part A (1500 words) Select a topic that relates to a particular health issue within your practice (or an...

Running Head: CHOLERA OUTBREAKS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
CHOLERA OUTBREAKS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA 12
ASSIGNMENT 3 ESSAY
NURS 9123 EPIDEMIOLOGY AND POPULATION STUDIES FOR HEALTH CARE PRACTICE 2018
CHOLERA OUTBREAKS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
        FLINDERS UNIVERSITY
(SCHOOL OF NURSING & MIDWIFERY)
PART A
INTRODUCTION
Papua New Guinea encountered cholera outbreak in July 2009 which continuously spread to the coastal areas of the country for many years ahead. The disease spread in more than 15500 people causing deaths of more than 500 by the end of 2011 with the case fatality ratio (CFR) of 3.2%. Many interventions like Oral Rehydration Therapy started in many parts of the country to bring down the CFR to 1%. The high value of CFR during the epidemic was a direct reflection of unpreparedness of medical facilities to deal with the outbreak and shortage of healthcare services in remote areas. The reflection was supported by the CFR of developed National Capital as 0.1% and the CFR of even more remote Western Province as 8.8% (Rosewell et al, 2012).
General Background
When a new epidemic disease spreads in any area it is generally followed or preceded by the disasters either natural or human-induced. But unfortunately, the epidemic in New Guinea was not driven by these circumstances. No disaster was there to obstruct the supply of fresh drinking water for the public. In few parts of the country, the increased population, inaccessible healthcare services and unavailability of fresh drinking water triggered the spread of the epidemic. The people who were worst hit by the situation were mostly living in unsanitary and dense conditions. The places where the service delivery was poor like rural areas were severely affected. The incidence of cholera in Papua New Guinea was directly related to deteriorating standards of healthcare services in the country and was evident in the data collected during the outbreak of the disease. Now the most authentic concern of the area is that cholera will remain as an officially endemic disease with recurrent outbreaks at regular intervals. The shortage of sufficient hygiene and sanitary facilities at many places increases the possibility of endemic disease. Cholera is caused by the pathogen Vibrio cholerae which lives in aquatic ecosystems. Papua New Guinea faced the epidemic of cholera for consistent 2 years (Rosewell et al,2012).
Importance to self and the wider population
The disease is important for me as Papua New Guinea is a neighboring country located near the northern part of my country, Australia. The epidemic disease, Cholera, widely affected a wider part of Papua New Guinea. Any epidemic widespread in neighboring countries can also cause harm to the populations of nearby countries.
The disease severely deteriorated the health of people and also the trade potential of its citizens. It reduced the number of tourists visiting to Papua New Guinea and increased the burden on the healthcare services of the country. In Papua New Guinea only 40% of the people have access to pure drinking water and hygiene facilities (Saif ur Rehman,2016). The areas of Central Province having a well planned system of drinking water facilities were not affected by cholera while the distant villages were very badly affected by the disease. The disease caused a large amount of displacement and unrest in the population. There were financial and logistic challenges associated with the implementation of multi-dose vaccines at large scale. The cholera was held responsible for causing the majority of deaths in the country during that time. The interventions adopted in the region included improvements in sanitation and hygienic facilities and vaccination for cholera. The consequences of insufficient safe drinking water resources and poor hygiene conditions resulted in large-scale morbidity and mortality in the country. Many other diseases like diarrhea, typhoid and shigellosis also contribute to more than 15% deaths of children below 5 years of age in Papua New Guinea. In October 2010, more than 70 people became ill each day due to cholera in Torres Strait Island in Papua New Guinea (Commonwealth of Australia, 2012).
The assignment has two parts: A and B. The part A consists of an introduction, general background and the importance of the health issue for self and the wider population. It also illustrates the significance of the health issue (cholera) for the population of Papua New Guinea and the determinants of health. It also summarizes the evidence of understanding of epidemiological and statistical terms used in the chosen articles.
The part B consists of strategy used by the state or community to address and deal with the epidemic issue, importance of collaboration, sustainability and capacity building. At last all the points are concluded in the conclusion section.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TOPIC
According to Horwood et al (2014), cholera continued to be a devastating disease between 2009 and 2011, causing more than 15,500 cases of cholera disease and more than 500 deaths in Papua New Guinea. The outbreak was mainly characterized by the absence of road network across the country which restricted the accessibility of healthcare facilities across the remote areas of the country. The study identified the high-risk areas and the possible way of transmission of the disease to design the strategies for improving the condition through cholera vaccination increased awareness and surveillance in worst-hit areas and efforts to improve the sanitation, water and hygiene conditions. To find the epidemiological outbreaks of cholera, the spatiotemporal mapping and geospatial analytical techniques were used.
According to Horwood & Greenhill(2012), poor availability of safe drinking water and hygiene \propagated many enteric parasites, resulting into skin infection and poor nutritional status which became the main cause of diseases in the outpatient population. The epidemic increased the mortality and morbidity rate of children in the country during the onset years. The devastating effect of the disease was more prominent...