The community health nurse faces many challenges that impact the health of communities. The community health nurse is adaptable and is able to provide care to a diverse population in all age groups with many different health needs. The community health nursing is population based, focuses on the greater good, health promotion, and disease prevention, and utilizes community resources. Healthy People 2010 is used by all public health nurses, alongside with other programs initiatives. Healthy People, 2010 objectives provide the direction and goals for all public health nurses, it is used as the guide and prioritizing activities for public health nurses. Therefore, prevention is a large focus of public health nurses, which primary, secondary …show more content…
Musculoskeletal problems are more common and more severe. Acute problems become more severe. Chronic conditions are dominant and more severe. Death rates rise rapidly among the elderly. The leading cause of death is heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Cognitive impairment and dementia occur commonly in the elderly population which contributes to declining in functional independence. Primary prevention can play a role in facilitating healthy aging by lifestyle and behavioral changes that include quitting smoking, improving diet, and increasing physical activity. Secondary prevention measures at this age are providing the technical skills to diagnose and care for patients as well as providing the appropriate medication such as aspirin, beta blockers, and statins. Once a chronic disease has been diagnosed, tertiary care involves treatment of the disease and attempts to restore the individual to her or his highest …show more content…
Substance use and abuse are major contributors to death and disability and can lead to addiction, and numerous health, social, and mental concerns. Consequences to a person’s health can include cardiovascular disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, and sexually transmitted disease. In addition to poor health outcomes and premature death, addiction can cause self-destructive behavior. The brain is made of many parts that all work together as a team and each part of the brain has a job to do. When drugs enter the brain, they can interrupt the work and actually change the way the brain performs its jobs. Individuals who engage in substance use and abuse are more prone to engage in risky behaviors, which can result in injury, sexually transmitted disease, and overdose. Among youth, alcohol and drug use can result in social and developmental problems, which can impact the quality of life during adulthood. Even a one-time drug experience could lead to accidents or disease. Because experimentation is a common motivation for adolescents to use drugs, the Healthy People 2020 prevention messages must be aimed at keeping young people from trying drugs in the first place. The prevention and treatment of substance abuse are priority measures in the Healthy People 2020 which include reducing youth illicit drug abuse and reduce drug – induced deaths, reduce average annual
o Type of healthcare worker: Nurse practitioner o When this type of work entered the market: The medical profession of nurse practitioner was developed in the mid 1960s. The job of nurse practitioners grew from implementing work from primary care physicians into that of traditional nurses. o Reasons for creation and growth: In the late 1950s and early 1960s, increased specialization amongst physicians was taking place, which led to many doctors exploring other avenues of medicine, resulting in a large shortage of physicians practicing primary care. This left many rural and inner city areas with very limited access to medical care.
According to Allender, Rector, and Warner (2014), public health is a combination of both an art and a science (2014). The mission of public health nursing is to promote health, prevent disease and ultimately prolong life (Allender et al., 2014). In order for this to occur an assessment must take place. An aggregate or community assessment begins with a collection of data. This includes: the community’s health needs, risks, environmental conditions, financial resources through local census data, and a windshield survey (Allender et al., 2014). Through public health nursing, communities can collectively come together to help promote an overall better health standing.
The Healthy People 2020 (Healthy People 2020, 2014) is a nationwide program created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to achieve objectives for promoting health and preventing diseases. Faith based communities may benefit tremendously in including these objectives in program planning. The main goal is for the American people to have long, healthy lives. The Healthy People 2020 program provides measurable objectives that can be applied down to the local level such as in faith based communities. These guidelines encourage high quality of life by being healthy, disease-free, accessible healthcare, and have an environment that promotes good health and wellbeing in all age levels.
Healthy people 2020 can be defined as that arm of the government launched by the Department of Health and Human Services in December 2010 with 4 goals which include attaining high-quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death; achieving health equity, eliminating disparities, and improving the health of all groups of people; creating social and physical environments that promote good health for all people; and promoting the quality of life, healthy development, and healthy behaviors across all stages of life (CDC, 2015).
“Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans.” ( United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Healthy People 2020 , 2011). It acts as a national guide for disease prevention and health promotion. There are various objectives and goals which serve as the guideline to achieve overall improvement in health . ‘Educational and Community-Based Programs’ is one of them. According to U.S Department of Health and Human Services the main goal of these programs is to “Increase the quality, availability, and effectiveness of educational and community-based programs designed to prevent disease and injury, improve health, and enhance quality of life.” (HHS, Healthy People 2020, 2011). This particular goal of Healthy People 2020 focuses on increasing the number educational and community based programs to increase awareness about disease prevention and health among every individual of the society. It focuses on educating them on various topics including chronic diseases, substance abuse, prevention of injury and violence to encourage and enhance health. It emphasizes on increasing the quantity and quality of such programs so that a larger population could benefit from the program and gain effective knowledge to achieve a healthy life.
Once upon a time, my best friend, Bryan Martinez, often heard his mother’s medical conversations with friends. One day at school, our teacher confronted Mrs. Martinez and told her that she was able tell that Bryan was a son from a nurse. Apparently there was an incident at school where a little boy was acting out and Bryan told our teacher that the little boy was agitated, and to give him some medication to calm him down. As demonstrated by Bryan, nursing is ongoing profession that promotes the health and well-being of individuals.
When I am older I would love to be a Nurse Practitioner, I enjoy helping people when they are sick and taking care of them. Another reason I want to be a Nurse Practitioner is because my sister is also a Nurse Practitioner.
There are a variety of definitions that organizations create to aid in a better understanding of the importance nursing holds in providing safe, patient centered health care to the community. For example, The International Council of Nurses states that “nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups, and communities sick or well, and in all settings. Nursing includes the promotion of health; prevention of illness; and the care of ill, disabled, and dying people. Advocacy, promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in patient and health systems management, and education are also key nursing roles” (Potter & Perry, 2016, p.3).
A community can be defined as a group of people, who live, learn, work and play in an environment at a given time. (Yiu, 2012, p.213) There are many factors that may influence the community’s development and health status. These can include resources available, accessibility, transportation, safety, community needs etc… These influences may combine together to form community strengths and as well as community challenges or weaknesses. As a community health care nurse, it is significant for us to assess and identify these strengths and challenges within the community in order for us to intervene and provide the appropriate needed health care services for the community members. This individual scholarly paper will explore and focus on one challenge issue identified from our group community assessment.
Healthy People 2020 is a program for the promotion of health and the prevention of diseases, launched by the Department of Health and Human Services in December 2010. According to healthypeople.gov, this program has four overarching goals which are first to achieve healthy, longer lives free of preventable diseases, injuries, and premature deaths; to achieve health fairness, eliminate differences, and improve all groups’ health; also to produce social and physical environments that encourage good health; and last but not least to promote life’s quality, healthy development, and healthy behaviors through all life stages. This program has a vision of a community where people live long, healthy lives. Healthy People 2020 offers a comprehensive set of 10 years of nationwide goals and objectives that is meant to improve the health of the American population. Healthy People 2020 covers 42 topic areas with approximately 600 objectives, which include 1,200 measures. A smaller set of Healthy People 2020 objectives, has been designated to communicate high-priority health issues and actions that can be taken to address them, this objectives are called Leading Health Indicators. The program goes above and beyond these health indicators in order to provide the best care for the people of this country. These indictors cover from the access of health service, nutrition, physical activity, and obesity to substance abuse, environmental quality, injury and violence.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2008). Public health nursing: Population centered health care in the community (6th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.
Alcohol is the premier drug choice among many youths. A national survey found that slightly more than half of young adults in the United States between the ages of 12 and 20 have consumed alcohol at least once. A psychoactive drug that depresses the central nervous system, alcohol, like tobacco, affects both the mind and the body. It lowers the brain’s ability to control behavioral functions and impairs one’s ability to perform basic motor skills. In today’s society, it is not a surprise for young teens to consume alcohol before they have reached the legal drinking age of twenty-one. Due to this, it has become a leading health problem in the United States. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about 4,358 people
Saying that you are a registered nurse is a broad statement. Registered nursing is a job that has many aspects. Registered nurses work in many different settings and they carry out many different routines. As a registered nurse you could be exposed to many different opportunities. My goal is to be a registered nurse but, I need to learn a lot. Becoming a being a registered nurse requires a lot of hard work and effort but, if I focus on my goal I will be able to achieve it.
Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2011). Community/public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations (5th ed.). St.Louis, MO: Saunders.
To answer my questions I looked to my clinical instructor and other resources such as course literature. From the course book, I was able to learn that public health nursing can be applied to lead collaborative efforts to attain optimal health for people locally and nationally. It also helps develop innovative programs to improve the health of populations and lead health care reform efforts within and across health care systems. As far as working conditions, I have learned that most public health nurses work for government agencies, nonprofit groups, community health centers, and other organizations that aim to improve health at the community level.