Student's Name Course name and number Date

Student’s Name Course name and number Date. Disaster Recovery Plan.

[Audio] COVID-19 pandemic, declared a public health emergency by the World Health organization in January 2020, is one the recent crises that has affected various communities around the globe (Djalante et al., 2020). One of the communities that felt the devastating effects of the pandemic is Lake Park. For disasters such as the pandemic, it is essential to have a recovery plan that outlines ways on how to respond to the unprecedented incident and its effects. This assessment focuses on developing a disaster recovery plan for the Lake Park community to help minimize disparities in access to health and acquisition of services after the disaster..

[Audio] Ideally, various factors influence health outcomes in different communities and populations. These can be social, economic, and cultural factors. In Lake Park community, some of the determinants of health include income status of the individuals, their level of education, access to healthcare services, as well as employment (Singu et al., 2020). In the region, 84% of the population above 25 years has reached high school or higher level. However, only 18.5% of people above 25 years has obtained a Bachelor's degree or higher. This shows low level of education within the community. Also, 23% of the population live in poverty. The per capita income over the past 12 months is just $20,274. These depict low socioeconomic status of the population. Various companies have also closed leading to loss of jobs..

[Audio] Social barriers impact the health, safety, as well as recovery efforts in the Lake Park Community. In essence, most individuals within the community have low socio-economic status, which makes it challenging for them to access high quality care services during and after the pandemic. In essence, in a population of 30,000 people, 20% (6,000 people) live below poverty line. Moreover, economic barriers deter the community from accessing adequate health insurance and financial resources, making it difficult to prioritize their safety and health (Singu et al., 2020). The median household income in Lake Park is just $37,476, and those who do not have health insurance and are below 65 years is 12.5%. Healthcare system barriers are also evident in the community. It lacks adequate healthcare infrastructure and medical resources to provide healthcare services to the Lake Park residents..

[Audio] One of these involves establishing clear channels of communication. In disaster recovery, communication barriers can be eliminated by creating a centralized communication system, which would enhance efficient and prompt dissemination of information among healthcare personnel, emergency response team, as well as community entities (Aruru et al., 2021). In this aspect, communication platforms such as social media can be used to provide real-time updates. Another strategy would involve implementation of team debriefings. In essence, conducting team debriefings before, during, and after the response activities would help eliminate communication barriers. Through the debriefings, the inter-professional teams will be able to share vital information and coordinate their efforts to help deal with any challenges that might emerge (Aruru et al., 2021)..

[Audio] Utilizing health information technologies like electronic health records can help prevent communication barriers in disaster recovery. These technologies facilitate ease of information sharing among various healthcare practitioners. It also facilitates seamless collaboration and communication among team members (Whitelaw et al., 2020). Moreover, standardizing communication protocols would enable the response team to establish clear roles and expectations of different individuals in the inter-professional team. This will enhance consistent and accurate sharing of information. Prior provision of inter-professional training to emergency response team and healthcare personnel would be crucial. The training can help boost the communication skills of the professionals, while also fostering team-work and mutual understanding (Whitelaw et al., 2020)..

[Audio] Usually, health and government policies tend to shape and influence the efforts put in place to respond after occurrence of disasters. In essence, the policies guide the recovery efforts and provide resources required to respond, mitigate, and recover from disasters more effectively. One of the ways in which the policies impact the recovery process is evident in allocation of resources. These comprise funding, human resource, and equipment to help respond to the disaster (Dzigbede et al., 2020). Another way is planning the emergency response. The policies help in developing plans to respond to the emergency such as COVID-19 pandemic. These plans stipulate roles of different personnel during and after the crisis. As such, various stakeholders can collaborate and coordinate their efforts..

[Audio] Health and government policies also contribute to recovery efforts in terms of delivery and access to healthcare. Ideally, the policies impact how healthcare services are provided during and after the crisis. For instance, they can help provide mobile clinics to increase access to healthcare. Another area is that of public health surveillance (Bryce et al., 2022). Through health policies, appropriate mechanisms are put in place to ensure surveillance and monitoring by public health personnel. During the COVID-19 recovery process public health personnel tracked outbreak of the disease and monitored the mental well-being of people in communities (Bryce et al., 2022). The policies can also help provide social and financial support to those affected by the crisis..

[Audio] In community health interventions such as in the case of Lake Park community that is still grappling with the adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to properly integrate social justice principles. These can help ensure equity and fairness in provision and access to healthcare services and resources that the affected population might require. Through these principles, system inequities are recognized and addressed appropriately, helping minimize health disparities. For instance, in the community, disparities exist due to various factors. These include low levels of education, low socio-economic status, high levels of poverty, and limited healthcare facilities and inadequate personnel. In essence, to help address these disparities, community members need to be involved to help plan, implement, and evaluate the health interventions. Health literacy will help empower the community to make sound decisions regarding the health. Diverse stakeholders will be involved in the interventions (Dzigbede et al., 2020)..

[Audio] A disaster recovery plan that has been proposed is essential in minimizing disparities in health, while increasing access to services within the community. This can be through awareness creation via outreach programs and education. These help ensure that individuals within the community are informed about availability of particular resources and services. Multiple channels like social media, public schools and community centers can be used to disseminate information (Bryce et al., 2022). Another way is through partnerships and collaboration. Fostering coalition with various stakeholders such a community organizations and healthcare personnel can enhance sharing of information and resources. Moreover, the plan would help in ensuring equitable allocation of resources. These can include the number of personnel and healthcare facilities to serve the community. The plan can also provide services to support the mental health and well-being of the affected population (Bryce et al., 2022)..

[Audio] In conclusion, disaster recovery plans can help communities and individuals recover from the adverse effects caused by disasters and go back to their normal life (Aruru et al., 2021). This paper has focused on the recovery efforts after COVID-19 greatly impacted the lives of Lake Park residents. Various aspects have been considered such as determinants of health and barriers that might affect efforts to recover from disasters. Strategies have also been incorporated to improve communication and wellbeing of the affected people. Health and governmental policies have been considered to be vital during disaster recovery..

References. Aruru, M., Truong, H. A., & Clark, S. (2021). Pharmacy Emergency Preparedness and Response (PEPR): a proposed framework for expanding pharmacy professionals’ roles and contributions to emergency preparedness and response during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 17(1), 1967-1977. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1551741120303235 Djalante, R., Shaw, R., & DeWit, A. (2020). Building resilience against biological hazards and pandemics: COVID-19 and its implications for the Sendai Framework. Progress in disaster science, 6, 100080. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2020.100080 Dzigbede, K. D., Gehl, S. B., & Willoughby, K. (2020). Disaster resiliency of US local governments: Insights to strengthen local response and recovery from the COVID‐19 pandemic. Public administration review, 80(4), 634-643. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13249 Harkins, C. (2020). Supporting community recovery and resilience in response to the COVID-19 pandemic–a rapid review of evidence. Glasgow Center for Population Health. https://www.gcph.co.uk/assets/0000/7854/COVID19_Comm_Recovery_FINAL.pdf Singu, S., Acharya, A., Challagundla, K., & Byrareddy, S. N. (2020). Impact of social determinants of health on the emerging COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Frontiers in public health, 8, 406. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00406/full Whitelaw, S., Mamas, M. A., Topol, E., & Van Spall, H. G. (2020). Applications of digital technology in COVID-19 pandemic planning and response. The Lancet Digital Health, 2(8), e435-e440. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landig/article/PIIS2589-7500(20)30142-4/fulltext.