Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T00:53:17.634Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Prehospital as Responsibility for Life: The Duties that Humans Who Survive from the Danger of COVID-19 as a Humanitarian Disaster

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2022

Anastasia Heni
Affiliation:
Master of Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
Dominikus David Biondi Situmorang*
Affiliation:
Department of Guidance and Counseling, Faculty of Education and Language, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
*
Correspondence: Dominikus David Biondi Situmorang Department of Guidance and Counseling Faculty of Education and Language Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia Jl. Jenderal Sudirman 51, DKI Jakarta 12930, Indonesia E-mail: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Type
Article Commentary
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

Dear Editor,

Regarding the recent article on the topic of “Maintaining Prehospital Intubation Success with COVID-19 Personal Protective Precautions,” Reference Avery, McAleer, Rawlinson, Gill and Lockey1 it is a really timely subject globally right now. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has claimed millions in humanity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO; Geneva, Switzerland), the number of deaths up to October 2022 was 6,528,557 spreading throughout the world. 2 Those who survive from COVID-19 are those who have managed to fight in various ways. One way to survive is with “Agere Contra” (meaning to act against), where a family head dares to fight against the rules set by the government in order to keep his family members able to eat in the midst of a critical situation like the current one. Reference Situmorang3 There are those who take steps to stay at home, obey the rules, limit themselves from all activities outside the home, and maintain health protocols. Meanwhile, those who are confirmed positive for COVID-19 are trying to recover in the midst of the difficult situation, to get to a hospital and the scarcity of oxygen, vitamins, and medicines. The medical personnel have taken care of the patients so that many lives were saved, even in the midst of the danger of contracting the disease themselves. Scientists collaborate with various disciplines, thus finding new ways of survival, namely wearing masks, washing hands, and maintaining body resistance. The latest is the application of a vaccine, which is believed to be a mass prevention of COVID-19 disease. Reference Situmorang4 Vaccines are sought to end the acute stage of the crisis and put the world on a path to ending the pandemic. 5 Even in development, vaccines are a prerequisite for entering normal life after the COVID-19 pandemic.

What moves people to try to survive the COVID-19 pandemic? One of the most powerful drivers is a sense of responsibility for life. In the midst of a crisis situation that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, humans were returned to their basic nature as humans. Viktor Frankl, in the theory of logotherapy, raises “responsibility” for life as a value that must be carried out as a human being. Reference Frankl6 The responsibility for this life cannot be taken away by anyone and any situation. Reference Kuswara7 Frankl’s philosophical thought, which is very important, is his view that humans have free will, the will to have meaning, and human purpose. Being responsible for life is the driving force for humans to make sense of their lives. Humans never close the possibility to experience the meaning of life, as well when they enter fate or suffering that cannot be avoided. Reference Triyono8

Everyone who has survived the dangers of COVID-19 is a person who is given a second chance to live life. Responsibility for life becomes an inevitable task for the continuation of a healthy life. Responsibility can be instilled early and in a simple way. Even washing hands as something that is believed to be able to prevent disease can be done since children. Reference Tyasrinestu9 This simple responsibility, if instilled as a value, can reach a higher level and have a wider impact, namely social responsibility, and even ecological responsibility. Reference Salmon10 This responsibility for life must inspire every step of people’s lives after the COVID-19 pandemic as noble beings who have been rescued from danger.

Conflicts of interest/funding

The authors declare no conflict of interest in this paper. The authors declared no funding was received for this paper.

References

Avery, P, McAleer, S, Rawlinson, D, Gill, S, Lockey, D. Maintaining prehospital intubation success with COVID-19 personal protective precautions. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2022. Epub ahead of print.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization. WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard: Global Situation. October 6, 2022. https://covid19.who.int/. Accessed October 6, 2022.Google Scholar
Situmorang, DDB. ‘Agere Contra’ as a strategy for survival: a spiritual philosophical perspective to fight the COVID-19 crisis. J Public Health (Oxf). 2022. Epub ahead of print.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Situmorang, DDB. COVID-19 vaccination: is it mandatory or optional? J Public Health (Oxf). 2022. Epub ahead of print.Google ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization. [Frequently Asked Questions: coronavirus disease (COVID-19): vaccine access and allocation]. October 4, 2022. https://www.who.int/indonesia/news/novel-coronavirus/qa/qa-covid-19-akses-alokasi-vaksin. Accessed October 5, 2022.Google Scholar
Frankl, VE. Man’s Search for Meaning. New York USA: Simon and Schuster; 1985.Google Scholar
Kuswara, E. Logoterapi Psikoterapi Viktor Frankl [Viktor Frankl’s Psychotherapy Logotherapy]. Jakarta City, Jakarta, Indonesia: Kanisius; 1992.Google Scholar
Triyono, Y. Existential Counseling: A Process of Finding the Meaning of Life. Jurnal Orientasi Baru [New Orientation Journal]. 2010;19(1):6580.Google Scholar
Tyasrinestu, F. Adapting to the new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic through creating a children’s song with a health theme. KnE Social Sciences. 2021;303308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salmon, K. The ecology of youth psychological wellbeing in the COVID-19 pandemic. J Appl Res Mem Cog. 2021;10(4):564576.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed