The Ebola Epidemic in West Africa, GCSE Coursework Example

With the timely nature of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and its impact on other nations, healthcare has become an increasingly vital component of the global landscape. With the response to Ebola amplified throughout the world, the Global Alert Response System is in place to provide updated information and guidance regarding the disease and the steps that are being taken to promote prevention and further exposure (WHO, 2014). Although Ebola is not technically an emerging disease, it should be treated as such because of its relative obscurity for many years until the recent explosion (WHO, 2011). Therefore, its significance is greater than ever anticipated with the current outbreak and there must be strategies in place to address this type of circumstance at the global level.

Milstead’s model was adopted to support an international approach to healthcare practice and to be proactive in using knowledge and experience from a variety of levels to accomplish these goals (Milstead, 2013). The Doctor of Nursing Practice supports this premise and aims to advance the cooperation among professional nurses and local, state, and federal officials to facilitate a leadership role in managing disease threats and other challenges at the global level (AACN, 2014). Most importantly, organizations must employ DNPs in a practical manner to ensure that their knowledge is used to improve global health and the strategic direction of these efforts (AACN, 2014).

There are many issues to address at the DNP level so that there is a practical and equitable approach to tackling international problems with the appropriate resources in place (AACN, 2014). This practice requires DNPs to improve their response to international health issues and threats as they occur (AACN, 2014). Therefore, models for improving global health conditions must be reflective of the strengths of DNPs and other factors that will serve the field effectively (AACN, 2014).

References

American Association of College of Nurses. (AACN). (2014). DNP fact sheet. Retrieved from: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/fact-sheets/dnp

Milstead, J. (2013). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide, 4^th Edition.
World Health Organization. (WHO). (2011). Emerging diseases. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/topics/emerging_diseases/en

World Health Organization. (WHO). (2014). Global alert response. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/en/