Community and Public Health Nursing Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key community and public health nursing concepts, theories, epidemiologic principles, assessment methodologies, and care of vulnerable populations based on the lecture material.

Community

A group of people and institutions sharing geographic, civic, and/or social parameters.

Community Health Nursing

A synthesis of nursing and public-health theory used to promote, preserve, and maintain population health through services to individuals, families, groups, and communities.

Public Health Nursing

Population-focused nursing combining nursing knowledge with social and public-health sciences to promote health and prevent disease.

Community-Based Nursing

Care of individual clients and families in community settings who have acute or chronic health problems, where care is primarily illness-focused.

Community-Oriented Nursing

Nursing focused on the health of a specific population or the community, emphasizing health promotion, disease prevention, and population outcomes.

Population-Focused Nursing

Assessment and intervention directed toward a defined group sharing a characteristic or risk in order to protect health and prevent disease.

Aggregate / Population

A group sharing one or more personal characteristics or risks.

Systems Thinking

A foundational approach that examines interactions among individuals, organizations, and systems, useful for cause-and-effect relationships.

Upstream Thinking

An approach that targets health promotion and illness prevention before illness requires medical treatment by addressing root causes.

Health Belief Model

A model that predicts and explains health behavior by assessing perceived susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, barriers, threat, and cues to action.

Nightingale's Theory of Nursing

A model emphasizing that the environment affects health, health exists on a continuum, and preventive care is primary.

Milio's Framework for Prevention

A framework connecting community-level change to resource availability, asserting that large-scale behavior change produces social change.

Pender's Health Promotion Model

A model stating that healthier behavior is more likely when perceived benefits outweigh barriers, influenced by self-efficacy and supportive social systems.

Precaution Adoption Process Model

A model similar to the Stages of Change framework that adds a stage of being unengaged with an issue between being unaware and contemplating action, without a termination stage.

Three Core Functions of Public Health

Assessment (systematically monitoring health and hazards), Policy Development (educating, mobilizing partnerships, and enacting plans/laws), and Assurance (linking people to services, ensuring a competent workforce, and evaluating quality).

Autonomy (Ethical Principle)

Respecting self-determination, allowing clients to make their own healthcare decisions.

Nonmaleficence

The ethical obligation to do no harm through standards of care and monitoring.

Beneficence

The ethical principle to maximize benefit and minimize harm by weighing risks, costs, and benefits.

Distributive Justice

The fair distribution of health benefits and burdens across a population based on need and available resources.

Reliability (Screening)

The consistency of measurement produced by a screening tool when used repeatedly.

Validity (Screening)

The accuracy of measurement of a screening tool in evaluating what it is intended to measure.

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)

Factors within a community or defined location that affect health risks, outcomes, daily functioning, and quality of life across five categories.

Health Disparity

A preventable difference in disease burden, injury, violence, or opportunity to achieve optimal health experienced by socially disadvantaged populations.

Vulnerable Population

A group at greater risk for poor health status, limited access to care or nutritious food, and disparities in morbidity, mortality, or life expectancy.

Social Justice

A commitment to equitable opportunities and resource allocation so all people can achieve optimal health.

Cultural Competence

A skill developed by the nurse to respect individual dignity and preferences while acknowledging cultural differences.

Cultural Humility

Appreciating, understanding, and partnering with clients from cultures different from the nurse's while acknowledging personal limitations in knowledge.

Cultural Preservation

Helping the client maintain beneficial traditional values and health practices.

Cultural Accommodation

Supporting and facilitating cultural practices that are beneficial to health within the healthcare plan.

Cultural Repatterning

Helping modify cultural practices that are not beneficial or are harmful to health.

Cultural Brokering

Advocating, mediating, and negotiating between a client's culture and healthcare culture.

Biomedical Health Belief

The view that illness has a biophysical cause and requires biophysical treatment.

Naturalistic Health Belief

The view that illness reflects an imbalance in nature, mind, body, or spirit.

Magico-Religious Health Belief

The view that health and illness are linked to supernatural forces, faith, good, or evil.

I PREPARE Framework

An environmental exposure history mnemonic: Investigate potential exposures, Present work, Residence, Environmental concerns, Past work, Activities, Referrals & resources, and Educate.

Medicare Part A

Medicare coverage for inpatient hospital care, hospice, limited skilled nursing care, and some home care.

Medicare Part B

Medicare coverage for provider/outpatient services, diagnostics, durable medical equipment (DME), ambulance services, and preventive care.

Incidence Rate

The number of new cases of a disease in a population during a specific time, calculated as $\frac{\text{new cases}}{\text{total population}} \times 1{,}000$.

Prevalence Rate

The number of existing cases of a disease at a specific time, calculated as $\frac{\text{existing cases}}{\text{total population}} \times 1{,}000$.

Attack Rate

The proportion of exposed individuals who develop disease during an outbreak, calculated as $\frac{\text{ill after exposure}}{\text{total exposed}}$.

Epidemiological Triangle

A model studying disease patterns through the interactions of Agent (cause), Host (living being affected), and Environment (surroundings that support/limit disease).

Chain of Infection

The six sequential steps needed for a disease to spread: Agent, Reservoir, Exit, Transmission, Entry, and Host.

Herd Immunity

Protection that occurs when high immunity levels among community members make disease exposure unlikely for vulnerable, non-immune individuals.

Natural Immunity

Innate first-line defense barriers against pathogens, including skin, mucous membranes, coughing, and stomach acid.

Active Acquired Immunity

Long-lasting protection produced by the host's immune system following natural infection or immunization.

Passive Acquired Immunity

Immediate, temporary protection transferred directly through antibodies from another source.

Anthrax

A bacterial livestock infection transmitted to humans via direct contact or aerosolized spores, causing itchy skin, stomach pain, and dyspnea; treated with antibiotics.

Botulism

A nerve toxin-mediated bacterial foodborne illness causing double vision, slurred speech, weakness, and breathing paralysis; treated with antitoxin.

Community Assessment

A comprehensive approach that treats the community as the client to evaluate needs, strengths, and resources for program planning.

Steps for Community Assessment

A seven-phase continuous process for community program development: 1) Define the community, 2) Collect data, 3) Analyze data, 4) Establish community diagnoses, 5) Plan programs, 6) Implement programs, and 7) Evaluate program interventions.

Ecological Model

An assessment model examining individual traits, interpersonal relationships, home/work environments, and larger local-to-global forces.

Informant Interview

A primary data collection method involving direct, low-cost discussion with key community members to obtain detailed qualitative insight.

Community Forum

An open public meeting used to collect qualitative community feedback and opinions.

Focus Group

A directed open-ended discussion with a representative sample of community members that generates ideas under trained facilitation.

Participant Observation

An assessment method in which the nurse observes formal or informal activities to uncover community priorities and power structures.

Photovoice

A participatory method where community members capture photos to highlight local health issues from their perspective, particularly useful for marginalized groups.

Windshield Survey

An observational survey conducted while driving through a neighborhood to evaluate people, physical environment, housing, and social systems.

Cognitive Domain

The domain of learning involving knowledge acquisition, comprehension, and thinking skills.

Affective Domain

The domain of learning dealing with feelings, beliefs, attitudes, and values.

Psychomotor Domain

The domain of learning involving the physical execution of a skill.

Migrant Worker

An individual who moves from place to place to secure seasonal economic work, facing heightened occupational, environmental, and access risks.

Directly Observed Therapy (DOT)

A tertiary prevention strategy for tuberculosis where a healthcare provider observes the client taking medication to ensure treatment adherence and prevent multi-drug resistance.