Untitled Quiz

Public Health Nursing (1900 to 1970)

• Focused on services to the public, prioritizing families as the primary unit of care
• Official health agencies played a key role, emphasizing disease prevention and health promotion

Community Health Nursing (1970 to the Present)

• Provides direct care to individuals, families, and groups in the community for health promotion and disease prevention
• Various agencies contribute to CHNg practice, including hospital-based programs, private agencies, school nurses, and health educators

Definitions

• Health: A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not just the absence of disease or infirmity
• Community: A collection of people who interact with each other, sharing common interests or characteristics that create a sense of unity or belonging
• Public Health: The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health and efficiency through organized community efforts
• Community Health: Refers to the health status of community members, health problems affecting them, and the overall health care provided to the community
• Community Health Nursing: Synthesis of nursing practice and public health, applied to promote and preserve the health of populations

Aims of Community Health Nursing

• Promote health and efficiency
• Prevent and control diseases and disabilities
• Identify need-based health care to prolong life

Objectives of Community Health Nursing

• Provide antenatal, intranatal, and postnatal care to ensure safe pregnancy and delivery
• Administer immunizations
• Offer care for children under five years old
• Conduct health education
• Enhance the community's ability to address their own health problems
• Strengthen community resources
• Prevent and control communicable and non-communicable diseases
• Provide specialized services
• Conduct research

Principles of Community Health Nursing

• Planned based on community needs and identified needs
• Integrates health education, guidance, and supervision into community health nursing services
• Services should be realistic considering available resources
• The community is the focus, serving as the unit of health care services
• Professional relationships maintained with etiquette and dignity
• Community participation is integral to community health services
• Individual and family members participate in decision making
• Health services are continuous
• Proper records and reports are essential
• Proper evaluation of health services is conducted
• Health services are accessible to everyone without discrimination

Factors Influencing Community Health Nursing's Development

Advanced Technology

• Technology has significantly shaped CHNg practice by improving health care, nutrition, and lifestyle through innovation
• Example: Advancements in medical technology have led to more effective treatments and diagnostic tools

Progress in Casual Thinking

• Disease and illness are linked to their causes.
• Understanding disease causation has impacted CHNg practices
• Example: The germ theory revolutionized disease control and prevention

Changes in Education

• Changes in nursing education have influenced CHNg practice.
• Nursing students gain a vast understanding of CHNg, leading to increased responsibility and practice
• Example: More comprehensive nursing education prepares practitioners for diverse roles in public health

Changing Role of Women

• Changing roles of women have profoundly affected CHNg by advancing women's rights, increasing their participation in the workforce, and giving them greater economic independence
• Example: The empowerment of women has contributed to their leadership roles in CHNg

Consumer Movement and Changing Demographics

• Consumers demand higher-quality services and increased participation in decisions that affect them
• Changing demographics, such as immigration or birth rates, influence CHNg planning and programming
• Example: Increasing diversity in populations requires tailored interventions and health promotion initiatives

Economic Forces

• Economic factors have influenced CHNg practices
• Examples: Unemployment, rising living costs, and health care costs necessitate innovative and efficient approaches to health care delivery

Characteristics of Community Health Nursing

It is a Specialty Field of Nursing

• Specialized knowledge and skills are required
• Focus on a particular set of people

Combines Public Health with Nursing

• Grounded in both public health science and nursing science
• Unique approach to promoting and preserving health

Population Focused

• Concerned with the health status of population groups and their environment

Emphasizes Prevention, Health Promotion, & Wellness

• Includes services like maternal, infant, and school programs

Promotes Client Responsibility and Self-Care

• Encourages individual participation and empowerment

Uses Aggregate Measurements and Analysis

• Examines data for the entire population to inform intervention decisions
• Example: Analyzing health trends and environmental factors

Uses Principles of Organizational Theory

• Community health nurses assess group and community needs, establish priorities, and plan, implement, and evaluate services

Involves Inter-Professional Collaboration

• Community health nurses work with a team of professionals, including physicians, social workers, physical therapists, and teachers

Function of Community Health Nursing

• Community health nurses work with professionals in public health and other disciplines to improve the health of populations
• Three primary functions: assessment, policy development, and assurance

Assessment

• Measuring and monitoring the health status and needs of a designated community or population
• Continuous process of collecting data on health, diseases, injuries, air and water quality, food safety, and available resources

Policy Development

• Forming a guide for action, determining present and future decisions affecting public health
• Builds on assessment data
• Provides leadership and administration for the development of health policy and planning

Assurance

• Translating established policies into services
• Ensures that population-based services are provided by public health agencies or private sources
• Monitors the quality and accessibility of those services

Components of Community Health Practices

• Community Health Practices are part of the larger public health effort that focuses on preserving and promoting the health of specific populations and communities

Promotion of Health

• Efforts to move people closer to optimal well-being or a higher level of wellness
• Includes educational and environmental supports for action and conditions of living conducive to health

Prevention of Health Problems

• Measures taken to anticipate or discover problems early to minimize possible disability and impairment

• Three levels of prevention:

• Primary Prevention: Measures to prevent illness or injuries from occurring, such as local health departments providing immunization programs

• Secondary Prevention: Efforts to detect and treat existing health problems, aiming to control or eradicate them

• Tertiary Prevention: Reducing the extent and severity of a health problem to minimize disability and restore or preserve function

Treatment of Disorders

• Focuses on the illness end of a continuum

• Includes remedial aspects of community health practice

• Practiced through:

• Direct Service to People with Health Problems: Example: home visits for elderly people or those with chronic illnesses

• Indirect Service: Assisting those with health problems to obtain treatment and referrals

• Development of Programs to Correct Unhealthy Conditions: Example: addressing alcoholism or drug abuse

• Rehabilitation: Reducing disability and restoring function for individuals, families, groups, and the community

Evaluation

• Analyzing and judging the practice according to established goals and standards

Research

• A systemic investigation to discover facts affecting community health and Community health practice, solve problems, and explore improved methods of health services

Settings (Scopes of CHNg)

• The practice of community health nursing has become more diverse, including non-traditional settings and partnerships

• Six categories of settings:

• Homes

• Schools

• Ambulatory service settings: example MCH, family planning centers

• Occupational health settings

• Residential institutions: example, camping for poliomyelitis, hospices care

• The community at large

Roles of Community Health Nurses

• Community health nurses assume diverse roles in conducting practice

Clinician Role

• Most familiar role, providing care to individuals, families, groups, and populations
• Emphasizing holism, health promotion, and skill expansion
• Holistic Approach: Considers the broad range of interacting needs that affect the health of the client as a larger system
• Focus on Wellness: Identifies individuals interested in achieving a higher level of health and works with them to accomplish that goal
• Expanded Skills: Utilizes physical care skills, observation, listening, communication, counseling as well as collaborative skills, use of epidemiology and biostatistics, community organization, research program evaluation

Educator Role

• Health teaching is a vital part of good nursing practice and one of the major functions of a community health nurse
• Significant role in promoting public health
• Emphasis is placed on illness prevention and health promotion