Ch 3: Public Health Nursing Flashcards
Public health is the science and art of
- Preventing disease
- Prolonging life
- Promoting health and efficiency through organized community effort
IOM’s publication of The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st Century
provides a comprehensive framework for how public health agencies, working in collaborative partnerships, can better ensure the health of communities by:
-Adopting a population health approach that considers the multiple determinants of health
-Strengthening the governmental public health infrastructure, the backbone of the public health system
-Building a new generation of intersectional partnerships
-Requiring accountability from and among all sectors of the public health system
-Making evidence the foundation of decision-making
-Enhancing and facilitating communication within the public health system as well as with patients
The recipients of this type of nursing care are not limited to individuals who are ill; instead
attention is aimed at services to promote and preserve health by assisting people to respond to illness effectively and efficiently. In other words, patients are taught how to live with rather than die from diseases while utilizing resources productively with minimal waste.
This scientific discipline of public health promotes and protects the health of people in their environments by using
knowledge from nursing science, social sciences, and public health sciences. Activities include conducting research, providing health education, encouraging health promotion behaviors, and developing policies to create healthy communities
The local-level structures provide direct services to
communities.
The Intervention Wheel represents
how public health care professionals collaborate with individuals, families, communities, and systems to improve the health of the population.
The three levels of public health practice
Community (focus on populations of interest [considered healthy but can improve factors to promote and protect health] and populations at risk [group has a common identified risk factor or risk exposure that poses a threat to health; may be considered a vulnerable population])
Systems (an institution or organization that exists within one or multiple communities)
Individual/family (promote health and reduce risks)
Primary Prevention
Using general and specific measures in a population to promote health and prevent the development of disease (incidence) and using specific measures to prevent diseases in those who are predisposed to developing a particular condition
Secondary Prevention
Stopping the progress of disease by early detection and treatment, thus reducing prevalence and chronicity
Tertiary Prevention
Stopping deterioration in a patient, a relapse, or disability and dependency by anticipatory nursing and medical care
Public health nurses work in a variety of settings, such as
health departments, state boards of nursing, federal health agencies, departments and centers, schools, homes, community health service agencies, municipal health departments, correctional facilities, community outreach services within hospitals, and clinics, and with other health services providers.
These standards help outline the responsibilities of public health nurses, which include the following essential functions:
Provide health education: Design breastfeeding promotion posters and written materials for distribution in free clinics
Promote healthy lifestyles: Promote healthy food choices through outreach programs in middle schools
Coordinate services: Connect low-income populations with quality, affordable health care services
Consult with government officials: Advocate with housing authorities to ensure accessible and safe housing for vulnerable populations
Participate in regulatory activities: Establish isolation or quarantine for a patient or population with a known high-risk communicable disease
Roles of the public health nurses include
Advocate/Activist
Case manager
Collaborator
Educator
Partner
Policymaker
Researcher
