DME 314 [JUNE 2019]
Disaster Management, Occupational Health & Safety
Diploma in Midwifery (Extension) - Year 3, Semester 1
SECTION A: OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
20 Marks
1. The person responsible for leading the response effort in an incidence is
In the standard Incident Command System (ICS), the "Incident Commander" is the person ultimately responsible for all response activities.
2. Which of the following target groups are considered in disaster preparedness and prevention?
"Vulnerable people" is the comprehensive umbrella term that encompasses pregnant women, children, the elderly, and the chronically ill during disaster planning.
3. A manmade occurrence that is dangerous to man and his safety is referred to as
In the context of the course, a catastrophic occurrence caused by human action/error (e.g., industrial spills, structural collapses, terrorism) is termed a "man-made disaster".
4. Susceptibility to a specific hazard is called
While "vulnerability" is the exact term for susceptibility, in this option set, "risk" is the closest concept, representing the probability of a hazard exploiting a susceptibility.
5. Immediate management of victims at the site of disaster is referred to as
Casualty management refers specifically to the on-site medical response, including triage, stabilization, and evacuation of injured victims.
6. Mitigation activities that will assist health care professionals to implement effective disaster response are
Establishing proactive strategies, protocols, and standard operating guidelines allows healthcare workers to respond rapidly and systematically during chaos.
7. Which of the following is required by a nurse in disaster preparedness?
While PPE is crucial, "Policy guidelines" form the foundational framework of *preparedness*, dictating exactly what the nurse's roles and responsibilities will be.
8. Which of the following is the main phase in disaster recovery?
During the recovery phase, "Mitigation" (often termed "Building Back Better") is deeply integrated to ensure the community is less vulnerable to future identical hazards.
9. Mitigation takes form of educating the community on disaster before emergency and which of the following strategies?
Mitigation and Preparedness are closely linked pre-disaster phases. Educating the community directly enhances their state of preparedness.
10. The stage of planning, drafting of plans and forms needed in the event of disaster is referred to as
Preparedness is the logistical phase involving the development of emergency action plans, stockpiling supplies, and running simulation drills.
11. The aim of people working together during recovery from disaster is to
While preventing suffering is key during the acute impact/relief phase, the long-term goal of recovery is to rebuild, restore livelihoods, and fundamentally promote life and normalcy.
12. Which of the following offers proper security of people's lives in the work place?
Active, continuous vigilance by all staff members is far more effective at ensuring workplace security than passive measures like IDs alone.
13. In case of an accident at the workplace the person whom the nurse should notify first is the
Following the occupational chain of command, all incidents, accidents, or near-misses must be immediately reported to the direct line supervisor/ward in-charge.
14. Which of the following is NOT a recommended action for a nurse/midwife who has been exposed to HIV infection at the work place?
WHO Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) guidelines explicitly state: "Do not squeeze or rub the injured site." Squeezing to encourage bleeding causes micro-tissue trauma, increasing viral uptake.
15. A sudden event that results in an injury, disability or death is
In OHS, an "accident" is an unplanned, sudden event that unfortunately results in tangible harm, injury, or fatality.
16. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of a good occupation health practice?
While good OSH improves morale, "peace and unity" is a broad social construct. OSH specifically targets injury reduction, legal compliance, and lowering compensation/administrative costs.
17. Which of the following is a reason for waste segregation?
Segregating infectious/sharps waste from general waste immediately at the point of generation is critical to prevent cross-contamination and protect handlers from infections.
18. The process of instructing and informing workers about the dangers that exist with their work and working environment is
Sensitization (or safety induction/awareness) ensures workers are consciously aware of the hazards specific to their daily operations.
19. Which of the following is a role of an Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) committee?
The OSH committee's mandate includes auditing the workplace, reviewing ongoing safety activities/policies, investigating accident trends, and recommending improvements.
20. Which of the following is NOT a major occupational health hazard?
"National" is not a hazard category. The 5 standard OHS hazard categories are: Physical, Chemical, Biological, Ergonomic, and Psychosocial (Psychological).
SECTION A: FILL IN THE BLANK SPACES
10 Marks
21. The process of sorting groups of injured victims based on care needed for treatment is termed as...
→ TRIAGE
→ TRIAGE
22. The act of locating and freeing trapped victims and evacuating them to safe places is termed as...
→ SEARCH AND RESCUE
→ SEARCH AND RESCUE
23. The process of reducing the severity of effects of a disaster is referred to as...
→ MITIGATION
→ MITIGATION
24. A human being injured or killed by a natural disaster or by any accident is referred to as...
→ CASUALTY (OR VICTIM)
→ CASUALTY (OR VICTIM)
25. People displaced from one country to another due to different disasters are referred to as...
→ REFUGEES
→ REFUGEES
26. The probability of a hazard to cause a disease or an injury to a worker is called...
→ RISK
→ RISK
27. The type of a hazard that occur as a result of exposure to microorganisms is...
→ BIOLOGICAL HAZARD
→ BIOLOGICAL HAZARD
28. The law that provides for paying the injured people in the course of their employment is termed as...
→ WORKERS' COMPENSATION ACT
→ WORKERS' COMPENSATION ACT
29. The commonest occupational hazard arising from excessive noise is...
→ OCCUPATIONAL HEARING LOSS
→ OCCUPATIONAL HEARING LOSS
30. An examination done on a potential employee for a specific job is called...
→ PRE-EMPLOYMENT MEDICAL EXAMINATION
→ PRE-EMPLOYMENT MEDICAL EXAMINATION
SECTION B: SHORT ESSAY QUESTIONS
10 Marks
Question 31: OHS Roles of Health Workers
(5 Marks)
Outline five (5) roles of health workers in prevention of occupational health hazards:
- Hazard Identification: Routinely inspecting the clinical environment to spot physical, biological, or chemical dangers before they cause harm.
- Risk Assessment & Reporting: Evaluating the likelihood of spotted hazards causing injury and formally reporting them to management.
- Safety Education: Training junior staff and colleagues on safe work practices, such as proper lifting techniques to avoid ergonomic injuries.
- Infection Control & PPE Use: Strictly adhering to universal precautions, proper waste segregation, and utilizing provided Personal Protective Equipment.
- Pre-employment & Routine Checkups: Conducting and participating in medical surveillance to ensure workers are physically fit for their specific roles.
Question 32: Natural Disasters in Uganda
(5 Marks)
Outline five (5) natural disasters common in Uganda:
- Landslides and Mudslides: Extremely common in the mountainous Elgon region (e.g., Bududa) during heavy rainy seasons.
- Flooding: Frequently affects low-lying areas and areas near overflowing rivers (e.g., Kasese and Teso sub-regions).
- Epidemics and Disease Outbreaks: Frequent outbreaks of highly infectious diseases like Ebola, Marburg virus, and Cholera.
- Droughts and Famine: Prolonged dry spells severely affecting food security, particularly in the Karamoja sub-region.
- Earthquakes: Tectonic tremors occurring primarily along the Western Rift Valley (Rwenzori region).
SECTION C: LONG ESSAY QUESTIONS
60 Marks
Question 33: Disaster Phases and Prevention (20 Marks)
(a) Define the term disaster (2 marks):
A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society, causing human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community's ability to cope using its own resources.
(b) Outline three (3) phases of a disaster (6 marks):
- Pre-impact Phase: This is the period before the disaster strikes. It involves hazard identification, risk reduction (mitigation), early warning systems, and intense preparedness activities.
- Impact Phase: The exact moment the disaster strikes and the immediate aftermath. It is characterized by maximum destruction, chaos, and the initiation of emergency search, rescue, and acute relief operations.
- Post-impact (Recovery) Phase: The period where immediate threats to life have subsided. The focus shifts to rehabilitation, rebuilding infrastructure, psychological counseling, and restoring the community to normalcy.
(c) Explain the various measures taken in the prevention of disasters (12 marks):
- Environmental Conservation: Engaging in mass afforestation and discouraging wetland degradation to naturally prevent floods, landslides, and droughts.
- Policy Formulation & Enforcement: Establishing strict building codes to ensure structures can withstand earthquakes, and enacting zoning laws to prevent human settlement in high-risk areas like steep slopes or flood plains.
- Public Education & Sensitization: Running community awareness programs via radio and local councils to educate the masses on the risks of their environment and how to avoid triggering hazards (e.g., avoiding bush burning).
- Early Warning Systems: Utilizing meteorological data to forecast severe weather patterns (El Niño) and broadcasting early warnings to allow communities to evacuate before the hazard strikes.
- Infrastructure Upgrades: Constructing physical barriers such as dams, levees, and deep drainage channels to safely redirect massive water flows away from human settlements.
- Routine Maintenance: Regularly inspecting and repairing industrial plants, chemical storage tanks, and electrical grids to prevent catastrophic man-made technological disasters.
Question 34: Rehabilitation and The Red Cross (20 Marks)
(a) Define the term "Rehabilitation" (2 marks):
Rehabilitation is the transitional phase of disaster recovery that focuses on restoring the affected population's basic services, livelihoods, physical health, and psychological well-being to a functional state.
(b) Describe the roles of "Red Cross" in disaster management (18 marks):
- Emergency First Aid and Medical Care: Rapidly deploying mobile medical teams to disaster epicenters to triage victims, provide life-saving first aid, and evacuate the critically injured to hospitals.
- Search and Rescue Operations: Collaborating with local authorities to physically locate and extract victims trapped under rubble, floods, or landslides.
- Provision of Relief Non-Food Items (NFIs): Distributing essential survival kits including tents, heavy blankets, tarpaulins, cooking utensils, and mosquito nets to displaced populations.
- Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): Preventing secondary epidemics (like Cholera) by setting up mobile water purification plants, distributing chlorine tablets, and constructing emergency latrines.
- Food Security and Nutrition: Organizing the logistics and distribution of emergency food rations and specialized therapeutic foods for malnourished children in disaster camps.
- Tracing and Family Reunification: Operating the "Restoring Family Links" program to track down missing persons, register unaccompanied minors, and reunite families separated during the chaos.
- Psychosocial Support: Deploying trained counselors to provide trauma therapy and emotional support to victims dealing with severe loss and PTSD.
- Blood Bank Management: Organizing emergency blood donation drives to ensure hospitals have sufficient blood stock to manage mass casualties resulting from the disaster.
- Disaster Preparedness Training: In the pre-disaster phase, the Red Cross trains community volunteers in basic first aid, early warning recognition, and evacuation protocols.
Question 35: Fire Outbreaks in Health Facilities (20 Marks)
(a) State six (6) causes of fire outbreaks in health facilities (6 marks):
- Faulty Electrical Wiring: Old, frayed, or poorly insulated wires sparking inside walls or ceilings.
- Overloaded Sockets: Plugging too many high-voltage medical machines into a single extension cord or socket.
- Improper Chemical Storage: Poor storage of highly flammable substances like surgical alcohol, ether, and oxygen cylinders.
- Unattended Heating Equipment: Leaving sterilization boilers, kitchen stoves, or patient space-heaters on and unattended.
- Smoking in Prohibited Areas: Careless disposal of burning cigarette butts by patients, staff, or visitors near combustible materials.
- Arson: Intentional setting of fires due to malicious intent or severe psychiatric disturbances by patients.
(b) As a health facility manager, explain how you would minimize fire outbreaks in your facility (14 marks):
- Regular Electrical Audits: I would hire certified electricians to conduct routine inspections and prompt maintenance of all wiring, replacing old cables and preventing socket overloading.
- Install Fire Detection Systems: I would ensure the facility is equipped with highly sensitive smoke detectors and heat sensors wired to a central alarm system to catch fires early.
- Provide Fire Fighting Equipment: I would place the correct types of fire extinguishers (Water, CO2, Dry Powder) and fire blankets strategically in all wards, clearly marked and easily accessible.
- Strict Enforcement of No-Smoking Policies: I would designate the entire hospital interior as a strictly enforced smoke-free zone with heavy penalties for violators.
- Safe Storage of Combustibles: I would mandate that highly flammable chemicals and compressed oxygen cylinders be stored in isolated, well-ventilated, and fire-proof storage rooms.
- Staff Training and Drills: I would organize mandatory, biannual fire safety training and evacuation drills so that all staff know exactly how to use an extinguisher and evacuate patients safely.
- Clear Emergency Exits: I would enforce a strict policy that all corridors, stairwells, and emergency fire exits must remain 100% unobstructed by trolleys, beds, or equipment at all times.