Community Health Practice: Prevention and Treatment

Secondary and Tertiary Prevention

• Secondary prevention focuses on early identification and treatment of existing health problems to minimize progression.
• Tertiary prevention aims to return clients to their highest level of function and prevents further health deterioration.

Treatment of Disorders

• The treatment approach includes:
  • Direct services for individuals with health problems.
  • Indirect services to enable access to treatment through appropriate referrals.
  • Development of programs to address and correct unhealthy conditions.

Rehabilitation

• Rehabilitation efforts reduce disabilities and restore function at individual, family, group, and community levels.

Evaluation

• Evaluation analyzes and assesses practices based on established goals and standards to ensure effectiveness.

Research

• Research involves systematic investigations to discover facts affecting community health and improve health service methods.

Role of Nurses

• Hospital nurses communicate findings to physicians and may not take independent decisions regarding care.
• Community nurses possess autonomy, making independent decisions and referrals based on patient conditions.

Settings of Community Health Nursing

• Community health nursing is practiced in various settings, including:
  • Homes
  • Schools
  • Ambulatory service settings (e.g., maternal and child health, family planning)
  • Occupational health settings
  • Residential institutions (e.g., hospices)
  • Broader community initiatives (e.g., campaigns for polio prevention)

Components of Community Health Practices

• The six basic components of community health practices are:
  • Promotion of health, seeking to enhance overall wellbeing and access to preventive services.
  • Prevention of health problems, focusing on early identification and minimizing disability through three levels of prevention.

Types of Prevention

• Primary prevention actions are implemented before health problems occur, focusing on health promotion, protection, and illness prevention.

Community Health Focus

• Community health is a major field within medical sciences, emphasizing maintenance and improvement of health among population groups rather than individual patients.
• Distinct from public health, which encompasses broader lifestyle promotion, disease prevention, and control of infectious diseases.

Community Health Nursing

• Combines nursing and public health to protect and promote population health, integrating professional nursing principles with community practices.

Historical Development of Community Health Nursing

• Early home care (pre-1800s) provided curative and care services by lay and religious leaders.
• District nursing (1860-1900) offered preventive and curative care to underprivileged individuals.
• Public health nursing (1900-1970) targeted family units for public health services, emphasizing disease prevention and health promotion through official health agencies.

This quiz covers the three levels of prevention in community health practice: primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. It also explores the treatment of disorders and the methods of providing direct and indirect services to individuals with health problems.