Nurses Provide Primary Care to the Community

Development in the Field of Nursing

Health care spending consumes a significant proportion of the national budget. As a result, good management practices should be part of providing cost-effective care to the community. The nursing profession is effective in providing primary care to the community. Even though the practice dates to the 19th century, its significance emerged in the previous decade as a result of changing demographics and global environment. It compliments health care policies through comprehensive nursing assessment, monitoring progress and early intervention. Additionally, it facilitates referrals and social support services such as education to promote self-reliance among people at risk. It combines biophysical, psychological, social knowledge and experience to develop capacity in health care provision. Therefore, the role of public health nursing is changing from contemporary generalist services to specialized and advanced roles in dealing with shifts in demographics, sociological and cultural factors that affect the health of the community.

Principles of Public Health Practice

Public health nursing focuses on the entire community with similar health characteristics. As a result, it is a population-based intervention program that involves everyone at risk. Secondly, it guides assessment of the community’s health status through an elaborate process (Truglio-Londrigan and Lewenson 10). For example, the practice develops and prioritizes plans in accordance with research and analysis of risk factors, assets and health status of the community. Additionally, the practice also considers external determinant of health. The determinants are a range of factors that affect the health other than a person’s health risk or...

... middle of paper ...

...ns globally (New Public Health Nursing 2).

In conclusion, the public health nursing profession is an effective tool for providing primary care to the community. The practice existed since the 19th century; however, its significance emerged in the 21st century as a result of changing demographics and global environment. It compliments health care policies through comprehensive nursing assessment, monitoring and intervention through referrals and social support services such as education to promote self-reliance among people at risk. As a result, it is community-based intervention program that involve everyone at risk. It guides assessment of the community’s health status through an elaborate process. For example, the practice develops and prioritizes plans in accordance with research and analysis of health status such as risk factors and assets within the community.