Population Health Concepts and Nursing Practices

NURS 3036: Community & Population Health Nursing - Week 1

• Course code: NURS 3036
• Topics for the week include: Introduction to Community & Population Health Nursing, Historical Milestones in Canadian Community Health Nursing, Fundamental Concepts & Models, Canadian Community Health Nursing Standards of Practice, Roles, Settings, and Functions of Community Health Nurses
• Additional materials are available on D2L
• Important concepts are reviewed, including Community Health Nursing, Social Determinants of Health, and Population Health
• Topics for today include introduction to Community & Population Health Nursing, historical milestones in the development of community health nursing in Canada, fundamental concepts and models, Canadian Community Health Standards of Practice, roles, settings, and functions of community health nurses.
• There is a discussion on what students know already about Community Health Nursing, Social Determinants of Health, and Population health. Students are asked what they want to know more about.
• An online activity (Mentimeter) is used to gather student input about the course topics.
• Community Health Nursing involves nurses working in the community. Community Health Nurses (CHNs) partner with people where they live, work, learn, meet and play to promote their health.
• Population health approach is different from traditional health care. Traditional health care focuses on the individual, while population health focuses on the interrelated conditions & factors that influence the health of populations over the lifetime.
• Upstream and Downstream thinking are concepts in health that distinguish approaches to public health. Upstream thinking is population-focused and includes a primary prevention perspective. Downstream thinking is individual-focused and takes a microscopic approach.
• Health and Population health are measured by health indicators like life expectancy, preterm birth, cannabis use, and cancer incidence
• Population is a large group and aggregate is a group within a population. An example of a population is citizens of Thunder Bay. An example of an aggregate is school-aged children in Thunder Bay
• Key determinants of health include income and social status, employment and work conditions, education and literacy, childhood experiences, physical environments, social supports and coping skills, healthy behaviors, access to healthcare services, biology and genetic endowment, gender, culture, and race/racism
• Equity and social justice are major concepts in public health. Equity focuses on differences in social status impacting the health of a larger community, whereas social justice ensures fairness and equality in health services for equal access to care.
• A population health promotion model is introduced, showing the different levels of society that should be involved in the process of creating health and health programs.
• The model helps identify challenges impacting the population health and how to take action
• Community health nursing practice emphasizes the importance of viewing health from a population perspective and addresses risk factors across social and environmental determinants of health.
• Primary health care focuses on treatment in institutions while recognizing primary care as the first point of contact for diseases. The Alma-Alta conference played an important role to ensure preferred international strategy
• Important principles of primary health care are discussed, including equitable distribution of services, emphasis on preventive care, maximum community involvement in planning, integration of health with social and economic development, and the use of appropriate technologies
• CHN Standards of Practice (2019) are examined
• CHNs use five Ottawa Charter health promotion strategies: building healthy public policy, creating supportive environments, strengthening community action, developing personal skills, and reorienting health services

Specific Standards of Practice

• Standard 1: Health Promotion - CHNs integrate health promotion strategies into their practice. Examples include working with communities to implement policies, promoting healthy eating and physical activity, and supporting families impacted by chronic illnesses.
• Standard 2: Prevention & Health Protection - This focuses on using the socio-ecological model to address prevention and health protection activities. Examples include promoting proper child car seat usage, providing immunizations, and teaching diabetic management to prevent reactions.
• Standard 3: Health Maintenance, Restoration & Palliation - This standard addresses maintaining health, restoration, and support during life transitions. Examples include providing directly observed therapy for TB patients and supporting individuals requiring referral for stroke rehabilitation.
• Standard 4: Professional Relationships - CHNs establish therapeutic and professional relationships with clients and their families. Examples include offering palliative care and providing holistic care to guide families through health and illness experiences.
• Standard 5: Capacity Building - CHNs help clients enhance their capacity for managing their health. Examples include teaching about medication management, enabling client participation, and working together to overcome challenges experienced by a family member.
• Standard 6: Health Equity - CHNs recognize health discrepancies and advocate for healthy policies. Examples include challenging cultural assumptions in messaging, incorporating Indigenous perspectives, and advocating for financial assistance programs.
• Standard 7: Evidence Informed Practice - CHNs utilize best evidence to guide practice and support clients' informed health decisions. Examples include reviewing literature, creating online resources and developing policies based on evidence-based research.
• Standard 8: Professional Responsibility & Accountability - CHNs display their commitment to professional accountability in their practice. Examples involve resolving role conflicts within their healthcare settings and demonstrating commitment to harm reduction principles when practicing within a needle exchange program
• Discusses core competencies for CHNs, which are discussed as professional responsibility, ethical decision making, and accountability.
• Introduces the topic of next week's activities (evidence-based practice, epidemiology and working with communities).

Other Key Concepts

• Collaboration with other professionals and client teams is stressed. This includes collaboration with physicians
• The different roles and settings (including military, school, public health, occupational, home health, rural health, and corrections) for community health nurses.
• Emphasis on continuity of care and discharge planning is highlighted as crucial to client well-being and preventing potential health challenges after a hospital stay
• The role of referrals is explained in the context of connecting clients with appropriate resources
• Health education is an important aspect of community health nursing which includes addressing people's health literacy needs

Additional Information

• A variety of resources, including websites for various public health organizations, are discussed.