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Principles of community health nursing
Role of health promotion in health
Approaches to health promotion
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INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING History of Public Health and Public Health Nursing Introduction The history of public health could be traced back to almost as long as history of human civilization. Possible customs during civilization may be, restrictions against waste disposal within public areas or close drinking water sources; rites associated with burial of the dead; and communal assistance during birth. Definition “Public health nursing is the practice of promoting and protecting the health of a population using knowledge from nursing, social and public health sciences. The practice is population concentrated with the aims of promoting health and preventing disease and disability for all persons through the creation of good environments …show more content…
Concept of Public Health Nursing Public health nursing is the synthesis of nursing theory and public health theory applied to promoting and preserving the health of the population. The focus of public health nursing in the public as a whole and the effect of the public health status on the health of the individuals, families and groups, care is provided with the framework of preventing disease and disability and promoting and protecting the health of the community as a whole. Health Promotion: Health promotion is a guiding concept involving activities intended to enhance individual and community health well-being. It aims at increasing involvement and control of the individual and the community in their own health. It acts to develop health and social welfare, and to reduce explicit determinants of diseases and risk factors that unfavourably affect the health, well-being, and productive capacities of an individual or society, setting targets based on the size of the problem but also the possibility of successful involvements, in a cost-effective …show more content…
Both public health and clinical medicine is important and mutually dependent to increase individual and public health. Ready access to high quality health care services is a right of the population and a requirement of good public health. This requires the accessibility of high quality providers of clinical and preventive care. Public health involves both direct and indirect methods. Direct measures in public health include immunization of children, modern birth control, hypertension, and diabetes case findings. Indirect methods used in public health protect the individual by community –extensive means, like raising standards of environmental safety, assurance of a safe water supply, sewage disposal, and improved nutrition. In public health practice, both the direct and indirect methods are crucial and necessarily relevant. The idea behind public health should include all population with in the community, both free living and those living in institutions. It should consider the health needs of the population and the health care resources in the community including services offered in institutional
The care that the public health nurse provides to her clients is patient-centered. During one of the home visits, the nurse talked and questioned her client about what her needs were and if there was anything she could do for her. The client mentioned that she needed more supplies such as diaper and baby clothes. The nurse agreed to bring these items the next time she visits. When the nurse had to perform an assessment on the client’s son by using the ASQ-3, which is a screening tool that screens for developmental delays, the client mentioned that she was not feeling well and did want to answer questions. The nurse respected her client’s request and did not carry on with the assessment. Patient-centered care was evidenced in the nurse’s practice as she was assessing and responding to her client needs. The client also had control on how the care was delivered to her. By letting the client have a voice in her care, the nurse was establishing a caring relationship with the client, which is one of the cornerstones of public health nursing (Garcia, Schaffer, & Schoon, 2014, p. 9). In addition, by providing support and care as well as addressing the client’s needs, the nurse was working at the individual level of practice.
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 focus of public health has been shifted according to events and particularly a community making it hard to define. However this makes it crucial to determine the situation under the recent public health, such as health needs assessment, in order for action to be taken with the economic situation, epidemiological transitions related with stigma, demographic status, health literacy and life course approach, and facilitating day-to-day activities (Wilson and Mabhala, 2013).
Inside any type of community there are many indicators of health, but now I am going to focus only in five of them. The proper good health of communities it is a very strong matter for governments and society in general. This indicators are important because gives us objectives, data, and resources to guide us in what are the mains community problems when we talk about health. The five indicators that I am going to discuss are: access to health services, physical activities, nutrition and weight status, sexual transmitted diseases, and immunization and infectious diseases. The government program that control and give us all this information is Healthy People 2020.
...e crucial change needed in health services delivery, with the aim of transforming the current deteriorated system into a true “health care” system. (ANA, 2010)
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).
Truglio-Londrigan, M., & Leweson, S., (2011). Public health nursing: practicing population-based care. Second Ed. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Resource utilization is important in nursing care delivery. ANA standards of nursing providing some stratergeis regarding resource utilization. The responsibility of the public health nurse is to assess the availability of resource and individual health needs to complete the healthcare tasks. The public health nurse considering certain factors that belongs to health care cost , safety , effectiveness and impact on nursing care in the planning and nursing care delivery. Also public health nurses are evaluating as such factors are bringing the expected outcome and its effectiveness. By the help of public health nurse the client and family members can identify the health services appropriate for health care needs.
Population-based care is different from individual care in that Population-based care the nursing staff is focused on providing care to health issues that affecting the populations. For example, public health nurses work to improving quality and safety of the community. They provide immunization for children, set measurable outcome for improving community health, and are ultimately
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2008). Public health nursing: Population centered health care in the community (6th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.
“A public health nurse is a nurse who works to promote and protect the health of an entire population” (Allender, Rector, & Warner, 2010, p. 839) the public health nurse I chose to interview was Barbara, she currently works for the Health department and has been there for three years. During the interview Barbara discussed the requirements for a public health nurse. The individual must have the ability to exercise independent judgment, planning and able to administer safe effective public nursing care. In addition be able to work effectively with individuals and families to assist them in the satisfactory solution of health problems, by recognizing and respecting of different cultural, ethnic and difference on health care practices. The nurse is also required to know disease prevention such as, different techniques on teaching, counseling, interviewing and resources available. Barbara stated that the most important part of being a public health nurse is being able to care. Barbara acknowledged that there are numerous individuals that she assists everyday that just want someone to exhibit that they care and understand. The education a public health nurse should obtain is a bachelor’s degree in nursing, which Barbara posses. “Public health nurses working with specific populations or in administration position should hold a master’s degree” ( Allender et al., 2010, p.839). Barbara discussed that before becoming a public health nurse she worked at St. Francis Hospital as med-surge nurse for five years, after that it was imperative that she change working environment. Barbara confirmed that working as a nurse in the hospital was extremely diverse then working as public health nurse. “Comparing public health nurse and general nurse, public health nursing is population based, focuses on the greater good, health promotion and disease prevention, and utilizes community resources. The general nursing is individual based, focuses on individual good, restoration of health and function, and manage resources at hand” (Minnesota Department of Health, 2007). In the beginning Barbara thought that public health nursing would be a difficult job to gain knowledge of however, she established that it was exceptionally effortless and gratifying career to posses. Barbara stated that she did not realize how much assistance was out there for the public until; she worked as public health nurse. Barbara spends 95% of her day going from place to place by doing home visits, investigating different cases, assisting with screening programs and enormous amount of paper work.
Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2011). Community/public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations (5th ed.). St.Louis, MO: Saunders.
To achieve vision 2030, health sector is a key pillar through provision of accessible, quality and relevant health services to have a healthy workforce. Increasing allocation of resources, improvement in health personnel and facilities, better health management are among the strides made. However, challenges still exist due to infrastructural constraints, inadequate human resources, increasing cost of medical care, financial constraints, HIV/AIDS Pandemic, increasing non communicable diseases and high poverty levels.
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.
Public Health is the science of preventing disease and promoting health through many different ideas and functions by informing society and different community-based organizations. The idea behind Public Health is to protect and serve; it helps improve the lives of countless individuals through promoting a healthier lifestyle, education, research, prevention, detection, and response management. From the beginning, the idea of Public Health has become a stepping-stone that is essential to the longevity of humans and the environment. As society progresses and new advents are created or modified, Public Health