Community Health

Public Health Nursing Interventions

Public Health Nursing (PHN) aims to improve the wellbeing of the population by promoting health and preventing disease among all people in the communities (Public Health Nursing, 2013). The PHN utilizes the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention to help improve the health of the communities. The PHN process is applied to all levels of practice. Interventions are “actions take on behalf of individuals, families, systems, and communities to improve or protect health status” (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012, p. 191). This paper will identify PHN interventions such as screening, outreach, and referral and follow-up, health teaching, and counseling that was identified in the PHN in the 21st Century project that this author completed as part of the PHN experience. This paper will also identify if the interventions were at the community, system or individual/family level.

Community Level

The community- level practice focus is to change the norm, attitudes, practice behavior and increase the knowledge of the entire community regarding the importance of immunization and the consequences of not being immunized (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). PHN primary goal is to prevent illness or a disease from occurring. Administering vaccines are a primary intervention that the PHN provides. The local public health nurses provided information packages to the public schools, senior citizen centers, daycare centers and other local businesses on the need for flu vaccines and where to go for free or affordable flu vaccines. In the packet was a contact card for the community to give back to the PHNs. This was a way for the PHNs to track the number of people who responded to the outreached message. Once a year...

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...y of life for people by collaborative working with the population to create the conditions that ensure healthy lives (Public Health Nursing, 2013). The nursing process is applied to all levels of nursing practices every day. The public health nurses interventions are target on the whole population and guided by an assessment of the community health (Public Health Nursing, 2013). Although the PHN primarily aims at prevention, all levels of prevention is utilized to improve the wellbeing of the communities.

Works Cited

Public Health Nursing. (2013). What Is Public Health Nursing? Retrieved from http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/phn/

Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2012). Population-Based Public Health Nursing Practice: The Intervention Wheel. In Public Health Nursing: Population-Center Health Care in the Community (8th ed.). Maryland Height, MO: Elsevier Mosby