All you need to know about public health nursing

A vivid description of public health nursing

Nursing is a profession that involves noble intentions, and there isn’t an iota of doubt about that. However, pursuing nursing also involves many challenges and hurdles. It gets even more daunting when you decide to delve into public health nursing. The complexities associated with the curriculum often leads to anxiety and stress among the students.

You can avoid the anxiety by reading through the information we have accumulated for you. Here’s everything you need to know about this branch of nursing.

What is public health nursing?

Public health nurses consist of the largest professional area within the space of public health. It involves the prevention, advocacy, education, activism, assessment, and evaluation of Public Health. They assume a critical role in the prevention of disease and support in improving community health and safety.

While most nurses attend to one patient at a time, public health nurses are known to care for the entire populations. The capacity to work with different communities enables public health nurses to assist in informing the community about health issues to boost their health and safety and provide better access to care.

Historical background of public health nursing

The term “public health nursing” was coined by Lillian Wald, who established the Henry Street Settlement in New York City. She believed that the term emphasises on the community value of the nurses.  

Wald’s services among the sick destitute led her to believe that their illnesses appeared from causes beyond the individual control. Also, the treatments needed to be provided in an all-round way after considering the economic, social, and medical aspects of each case. She also emphasised the importance of looking into the perspective of the patients while providing appropriate healthcare.

By the later 1920s, public health nurses had successfully established their capacity to advance the public health mission. In recent times, public health nurses have taken over a variety of roles and titles. With the implementation of the new-age reforms, their significance will further increase in the coming days.

Public health nursing: practice and functions

Public health nursing is all about working with communities and populace as equal partners and emphasising on primary prevention and health promotion. The characteristics of public health nursing involve collaboration and partnerships with populations and communities to address and alleviate health and social conditions.

• The practice of PHN: Then and now

Public health nursing has evolved as a distinct branch of nursing. Particularly when expanding scientific knowledge and public objection to substandard urban living conditions prompted the implementation of population-oriented, preventive health care. Public health nurses were perceived as having a vital role in bringing about improvements in the health and social conditions of the most vulnerable sections of the populations. The champions of public health also saw themselves as advocates for these groups.

Today, public health nurses practice in diverse settings and situations. This includes the following (but not limited to these settings), home health agencies; community nursing centres; housing developments; neighbourhood centres; local and state health departments;  parishes; school health programs. High-risk, susceptible population is often the focus in this case. This involves the frail elderly, homeless individuals, smokers, teen mothers, sedentary individuals, and those vulnerable to a specific disease.

Contemporary public health nursing practice, like the practice of early public health nursing leaders, is offered in collaboration with several agencies. It is focused on population characteristics that go beyond institutional boundaries. At an advanced level, Public Health Nursing knowledge and competencies prepare nurses to take a defining role to evaluate assets and requirements of the populations and communities.

• Function and role of public health nurses

The role also involves proposing solutions in partnership. Community or population-centric solutions can have a widespread impact on health and illness patterns of multiple levels of clients including individuals, families, neighbourhoods, groups, communities, and the broader population.

Typically, the work of public health nurses is described as "primary prevention.” This means preventing injury, disease, disability and premature death. Public health nurses work as a team with other professionals in the domain of public health. These professionals are environmental health specialists, epidemiologists, health educators, public health physicians, and nutritionists.

As members of the team, they reach out to the local communities to evaluate and prioritise major health issues. In fact, they are also instrumental in working on a plan to eliminate these issues and the other conditions that contribute to the wellbeing of the population.

Public health nurses assist individuals and families in taking measures to improve their health condition. This often takes the form of informing and educating about healthy lifestyle choices in the home, in the workplace, and in community settings. Public health nurses support people to adopt improved health choices in their everyday lives.

Public health nurses also understand that the community and environment in which people live can influence their ability to make healthy lifestyle choices. Hence, public health nurses may spend a substantial part of their time on ensuring healthy living conditions in the neighbourhood where they work and on enhancing the health status of the entire community, not just specific individuals.

Global statistics on public health nursing as laid down by the WHO

The resolutions on public health nursing adopted by the WHO World Health Assembly have been instrumental in case of offering a strong foundation for nursing services all over the world. According to the most recent resolutions taken in the assembly, WHO has been entrusted with the task to formulate and strengthen strategies the process of public health nursing.

Considerations that WHO is working on as per the global strategic directions for strengthening nursing and midwifery 2016-2020.

• Working together to elevate the potentials and abilities of nurses through intra and inter-professional collaborative partnerships, education and continuing professional development
• Ensuring motivated and skilled nursing and midwifery workforce within efficient and responsive health systems in different settings.
• Optimising stringent policy formulation, efficient leadership, and management.
• Influencing the political will to invest in developing effective evidence-based nursing and midwifery workforce.

WHO is working towards implementing these considerations on a country based on regional and international scale.

Distinction between community health nursing and public health nursing

Public health nursing is a broad term that consists of community health nursing. The primary objective of both these branches is to preserve, promote, and maintain the health of the general populace. Public health nurses are educated and trained to evaluate the health conditions of the overall population of the world. Whereas, the community health nurses primarily focus on evaluating the health needs of families and individuals within a certain area or community.

Public Health comprises community health. Public health is the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts and informed choices of society in the world, and organisations, and public and private, communities and individuals".

Community health nurses

Public health nurses

i) Delivering health care facilities to individuals, families or groups.     ii) Offering diagnosis is depending on the needs of individuals, or group.   iii) Working to improve health condition and prevent illness among individuals or families. The main goal here is to boost community health. For instance, meeting with a group of young mothers to educate them on immunisations.

i) Evaluating the health requirements of the larger population.   ii)  Diagnosing or developing policies connected with the health needs of the majority of the population.   iii) Planning for the population as a whole to prevent disability and disease and preserve their health. For instance, after an illness outbreak, the public health nurse will evaluate the need and formulate a program to set up an immunisation clinic.

Table 1: Distinction between community health nursing and public health nursing

How to produce a stellar nursing assignment

Anyone who is pursuing or aims to pursue a career as a nurse would know how demanding the profession can be. Managing erratic schedules, looking after multiple patients, monitoring patient’s records are all unavoidable aspects of a nurse’s job. Now, as a nursing student, you will have to carry out all these responsibilities, and at the same time produce impeccable academic papers. On that note, here’s how you can sail through your nursing assignments.

• Prepare a to-do list before you proceed with the tasks

Always create a plan for the tasks you have to submit throughout an academic session. Focus on those tasks that have an early deadline. This lets you accomplish one thing at a time, instead of becoming intimated and anxious by the magnitude of your tasks.

• Always emphasise on the materials covered in class

Your professors are going to assign multiple chapters to read every week, it includes outside resources to review. Rather than reading and outlining every single word, make good use of the time spent in class. What are the major aspects covered in class? Pay close attention to these areas.

• Focus on the actions

It’s crucial for nurses to remember why some conditions become evident and what is happening to a patient physiologically. Now, the patient would be more interested in knowing how long is it going to take for them to get better. That’s why you should always question yourself, "How will I assist my patients with this information?” This will allow you to create a brilliant assignment paper.

• Get a grip over your learning style

Everyone has a distinct way of learning. In effect, everyone needs to discover which style works best for them. When you have clarity over your distinctive style of learning, you can use the knowledge to your benefit. This way, your academic grades will speak for themselves.

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