Assessment 3: Disaster Recovery Plan

NURS FPX 4055 · Assessment 3 · Lake Park

Sample for study and reference. Ace My Assessment is an independent academic support service.

Community experiences, responses, and recovery to disasters are influenced by multiple determinants of health. Lake Park residents live within a twenty-three percent poverty rate and have a distance of sixty miles to acute care (Stimpson et al., 2025). Disaster response responses are often consistently poor in rural areas with inadequate health system infrastructure (Dudley et al., 2023). These economic and geographic factors directly contribute to the overall vulnerability of the community to the health effects of disasters.

Significant economic challenges exist in Lake Park, and cultural and social barriers to these economic hardships are further obstacles. One-quarter of all those under the age of 65 are still not insured, and as a result, have delayed access to care (Stimpson et al., 2025). There is a strong national correlation between lower socioeconomic status and poor access to health care and poor health outcomes from the pandemic (Capasso et al., 2022). It is critical, then, to address these social and cultural obstacles to create real, sustained disaster resilience in a community.

These determinants and barriers do not function alone but rather act in synergy and are very influential. An already distant regional hospital (Dudley et al., 2023) is made even more difficult because of poverty's restrictions on transportation. Lack of adequate insurance coverage also can make people put off seeking care at an early stage, resulting in escalating preventable conditions during the active disaster event (Capasso et al., 2022). Being mindful of these inter-relationships, nurses can develop recovery strategies that target underlying causes instead of individual symptoms.

Coordinated, timely and clear communication between interprofessional healthcare team members is vital to effective disaster recovery. Staff interviews found that in the response to the pandemic, mental health support was challenging to coordinate remotely (Wei et al., 2022). In long-term public health emergencies, interdisciplinary communication is often hindered by a heavy workload and a lack of experience (Lee, 2023). The documented barriers identified indicate the importance of having structured and evidence-based interprofessional communication strategies in place during a future disaster.

Interprofessional healthcare teams are best supported by structured models of collaboration that have repeatedly been shown to decrease communication breakdowns. Shared goals, mutual respect, and clear team roles, are all facilitators of successful interprofessional collaboration (Wei et al., 2022). The discipline will discuss the concerns raised by each other after the emergency events through regular debriefs (Lee, 2023). These organized approaches could have a significant impact on improving interprofessional disaster response team working in Lake Park.

Communication protocols are developed for rural communities to cater to their particular geographical and resource limitations. The PHERCC framework focuses on the role of trusted local messengers and stakeholder engagement to effectively communicate with vulnerable rural populations (Leslie et al., 2025). Digital-only media was less effective than traditional media or local sources for engaging older rural people (Leslie et al., 2025). This stakeholder-driven approach would improve interprofessional cooperation and enhance community confidence during all aspects of the recovery process at Lake Park.

To enhance access to community services, the structural barriers identified during this disaster recovery assessment need to be addressed. Engaging community through community-based responses in public health crises leads to improved health outcomes (Dudley et al., 2023). Costs of inequity are compounded after disasters if public health infrastructure is not in place before the disaster happens (Stimpson et al., 2025). The investments would significantly enhance the available healthcare services currently available to Lake Park residents based on evidence.

To make these principles a reality, there needs to be specific, tangible measures in Lake Park's disaster recovery plan. Funding for recovery in alignment with social protection and workforce strengthening policies helps to increase the long-term sustainability of community resilience (Stimpson et al., 2025). There are structural barriers to recovery services that are best served by partnering with trusted community organizations (Leslie et al., 2025). This implementation strategy directly contributes to social justice and builds the Lake Park disaster recovery capacity.

The determinants of health, communication barriers, and existing policy gaps need to be addressed together in the disaster recovery plan for Lake Park. CERC application combined with interprofessional collaboration strategies will increase collaboration and trust in future disasters. Making equity part of every phase of recovery means supporting and providing vulnerable residents with truly meaningful support and resources. Nurses continue to play a key role in helping to implement these evidence-based strategies to achieve sustainable community health and safety outcomes.

Capasso, A., Kim, S., Ali, S. H., Jones, A. M., DiClemente, R. J., & Tozan, Y. (2022). Socioeconomic predictors of COVID-19-related health disparities among United States workers: A structural equation modeling study. Public Library of Science Global Public Health, 2(2), e0000117. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000117

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). Crisis & emergency risk communication (CERC). https://emergency.cdc.gov/cerc/

Dudley, L., Couper, I., Wijekoon Kannangarage, N., Naidoo, S., Rodriguez Ribas, C., Koller, T. S., Young, T., & Standley, C. J. (2023). COVID-19 preparedness and response in rural and remote areas: A scoping review. PLOS Global Public Health, 3(11), e0002602. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002602

Ho, S. S., Chuah, A. S. F., Ho, V. S., Rosenthal, S., Kim, H. K., & Soh, S. S. H. (2024). Crisis and emergency risk communication and emotional appeals in COVID-19 public health messaging: Quantitative content analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26, e56854. https://doi.org/10.2196/56854