Public Health Nursing and Community Health
Slide 2: Public Health Nursing Overview
Public health nursing focuses on populations, aiming to develop disease prevention and protection strategies. This nursing specialty often takes an interdisciplinary approach, collaborating with other healthcare providers to maintain population health.
Empowerment: Public health nurses help patients manage their health conditions through self-efficacy.
Example: Advocating for safe housing or providing accessible clinics for community immunizations.
American Nurses Association (ANA) Definition:
Public health nurses aim to improve the population's health in various environments (work, home, community).
Slide 3: Public Health Focus Areas
Public health nursing emphasizes:
Disease Prevention: Working to prevent the spread of illnesses.
Health Protection: Ensuring communities are protected from health hazards.
Health Promotion: Educating target populations on healthy living.
Example: Nurses may organize local health fairs to promote awareness about blood pressure monitoring or diabetes prevention.
Slide 4: Roles of Public Health Nurses
Public health nurses take on various roles to support the community:
Client Advocate: Supports patients and community needs.
Example: Advocating for policy changes to improve health services.
Educator: Teaches about wellness and disease prevention.
Example: A home health nurse teaches a family how to manage diabetes care at home.
Collaborator: Works with healthcare workers and community resources.
Example: Collaborating with dietitians, social workers, and community organizations to support patient care.
Counselor: Builds relationships and refers patients to appropriate resources when needed.
Example: Facilitating group therapy for patients with chronic conditions.
Case Management: Coordinates patient care, especially in managing chronic conditions.
Example: A nurse organizes a team of healthcare providers for a patient with heart failure.
Health Literacy: Nurses must ensure resources match the literacy level of their patients.
Slide 7: Home Care Nursing
Roles and Duties of a Home Care Nurse:
Case Management: Coordinates patient care, services, and referrals for home health.
Direct Care: Provides hands-on care, such as wound management or medication administration.
Education: Teaches patients and caregivers how to care for themselves or their loved ones.
Advocacy: Acts as a voice for patients, particularly when caregivers have differing views.
Hospice and Palliative Care: Focuses on comfort measures for patients with terminal or chronic illnesses.
Considerations for Home Care:
Nurses work autonomously and must build trust in patients' homes. They must assess home safety during the first visit (e.g., look for trip hazards or unsafe equipment).
Slide 8: Levels of Health Care Prevention
Primary Prevention: Preventing illness or injury before it occurs.
Example: Lobbying for smoking bans in public places or providing vaccines.
Secondary Prevention: Early detection and treatment of diseases.
Example: Screening for high blood pressure to prevent complications.
Tertiary Prevention: Rehabilitation and preventing further deterioration in patients with chronic diseases.
Example: Physical therapy after a stroke to regain mobility.
Collaboration is key, involving healthcare professionals from various fields (e.g., physical therapists, pharmacists).
Slide 10: Social Determinants of Health
Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) are conditions in which people are born, live, work, and age, influencing their overall health.
Examples of factors affecting health:
Nutritional Intake: Deficiency or excess can cause disease.
Physical Agents: Harmful environmental exposures, such as toxins or air pollution.
Epidemiology: The study of disease patterns, including how frequently diseases occur and who is affected.
Slide 11: Healthy People 2030
Healthy People 2030 outlines objectives to promote health and reduce health disparities. Nurses play a critical role in addressing social determinants by conducting community assessments (e.g., a Windshield Survey to identify community health factors).
Slide 12: Windshield Survey Reflection
Healthy Factors: Access to parks, grocery stores with healthy food options, and clean neighborhoods.
Unhealthy Factors: Lack of medical facilities, pollution, or unsafe neighborhoods.
Slide 14-15: Community and Individual Assessment
Public health nurses use broad, open-ended questions to assess community health concerns, focusing on areas such as nutrition and exercise facilities. Nurses plan primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions based on these assessments.
Slide 16: OASIS System for Home Health Care
OASIS (Outcome and Assessment Information Set) is used to assess adults receiving skilled home healthcare. It includes:
Certification that the patient is homebound.
Ongoing assessment of the patient’s need for skilled care.
Evaluation of support systems and home safety.
Slide 17: Community Analysis
Based on community assessments, nurses identify strengths and limitations in their communities.
Example: If a community has inadequate immunization programs, children may be at increased risk for diseases like pertussis.
Slide 18: Stakeholders in Community Health
Stakeholders are individuals or groups with an interest in health outcomes, such as local community members or healthcare providers.
Slide 20: Transition from Acute Care to Home
When patients are discharged from acute or long-term care facilities, home care nurses play a key role in ensuring continuity of care. They monitor wound care, medication management, and overall health maintenance.
Slide 25: Defining Health
Health is more than just the absence of disease—it’s a balance of physical, mental, and social well-being. Nurses help patients engage in health promotion activities, such as exercise or healthy eating, and risk factor reduction.
Slide 27: Stages of Illness
Suchman’s Stages of Illness Model:
Symptom Experience: Recognizing signs of illness.
Assumption of the Sick Role: Accepting that they are ill.
Medical Care Contact: Seeking professional help.
Dependent Patient Role: Accepting treatment.
Perceived Recovery: Returning to health.
Slide 28: Models of Health Behavior
Basic Human Needs Model: Focuses on the hierarchy of needs, emphasizing self-actualization.
Health Belief Model: Evaluates a patient’s readiness to change health behaviors based on their perceived risk, severity, and benefits of treatment.
Slide 31: Health Promotion Model (HPM)
HPM emphasizes the promotion of well-being and health through positive behaviors. Nurses assess a patient’s motivation to change and work to improve their functional capacity.
Slide 33-34: Influences on Health
Age and Immunity: Very young and elderly patients have weaker immune systems.
Gender: Gender-specific health concerns (e.g., reproductive health screenings).
Genetics: Family history may increase susceptibility to certain conditions (e.g., heart disease).
Environment: Factors such as access to clean water and safe housing affect health.
Peers and Family: Adolescents are often influenced by peers, while families shape health behaviors.
Self-concept: how individuals perceive themselves: character, cognitive abilities, body image. Positive or negative. Nurse helps patient develop coping mechanisms to adapt to changes in health
Developmental level: achievement of developmental milestones (tasks) and interaction with environment. Nurse develops strategies and activities appropriate to developmental level and ability to participate
Influence of peers and family: Peers greater influence for adolescents. Family: principal framework for health promotion and preventing disease
Traditions, beliefs, and values: healthcare decisions are based on cultural background and religious beliefs. Nurse incorporate into plan of care
Health care access and availability: what circumstances affect access to care?
Nurses support patients in developing coping strategies and adapting to their health challenges.