Nightingale Fighting Cholera

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Florence Nightingale Fighting Cholera in Haiti What is the goal of nursing? Well, according to Florence Nightingale, one of the most revolutionary theorists in nursing history, it is “to put the patient in the best condition for nature to act upon him” (Nightingale, 1860). There are many new and advance technological procedures available in homes and health care environments to help treat patients, and for them to recover quickly. However, sometimes it is the simple health practices that are able to keep individuals at their best possible state. Florence Nightingale develops an understanding that the environment directly affects a patient’s wellbeing over 100 years ago; her observations are still relevant in today’s healthcare environments. Many public and community health problems could be avoided by application of her theory. Many health promotion programs are based on the application of her theory. The basis for reducing risks of cholera outbreaks in Haiti are all grounded on applying Nightingale’s theory. Nurses and health care providers implement aspects from a few different canons into the process of aiding in infection control and prevention of cholera in Haiti. Cholera is an extremely deadly disease, as of 2010 it affects 3-5 million individuals and causes about 100,000-130,000 deaths a year. Cholera is caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae which results in a diarrhea illness (Kraft, 2010). “This bacterium can enter a human’s internal environment through different pathways, with consuming dirty water and food being the most prevalent reason for acquiring this disease” (Kraft, 2010). In 2010, 303 people passed away due to the cholera outbreak in Haiti, and over 4,700 individuals were treated for this illness (Cholera Prevention Efforts, 2010). Although this disease is treatable, “death can occur in healthy adults within hours” (Kraft, 2010,

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