Public Health Concepts/ Role of PHN

Question 1

Assessment

Answer 1

• monitoring the environmental and health status to identify and solve community and environmental health problems to diagnose and investigate health hazards in the community
  Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community
  Definition:
• Systematically collecting data on the population, monitoring the population’s health status and making information available about the health of the community
  ** Example**: the population health nurse compares the rates of HIV incidence in various areas of the city. Which of the core functions of public health is nurse practicing? - assessment

Question 2

Policy Development

Answer 2

informing, educating, and empowering the public about environmental health issues by mobilizing community partnerships and actions to identify and solve environmental health problems
o Development of policies and plans that support individual and community environmental health efforts
Definition:
 Refers to the need to provide leadership in developing policies that support the health of the population, including the use of the scientific knowledge base in making decisions about policy.
Example:
 The population health nurse develops and implements local public health policies through collaborations with agencies, organizations, and stakeholders within the community. Which of the following core public health functions is the nurse addressing?
 The population health nurse developed a policy for the school district on vaccination requirements for all school aged children. Which of the following core public health functions is the nurse practicing?

Question 3

Assurance

Answer 3

enforce laws and regulations that protect individuals and community health and ensure safety by linking people to needed environmental health services that assure the provision of environmental health services when otherwise unavailable
Assure a competent environmental health workforce
Evaluate the effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based environmental health services
Research for new insights and innovative solutions to environmental health problems
Definition:
* Refers to the role of public health in ensuring that essential community-oriented health services are available, which may include providing essential personal health services for those who would otherwise not receive them. Assurance also refers to making sure that competent public health and personal health care workforce is available. Assurance should mean that public health officials should be involved in developing and monitoring the quality of services provided.
Example : The population health nurse set up a clinic that targets the under-insured immigrant population in the city. Which of the core functions of public health is the nurse practicing?

Question 4

Forensic Nursing

Answer 4

• Caring for victims of injuries
• Combines the biopsychosocial and spiritual aspect of nursing care with forensic science and the criminal justice process
• Collaborates public health professionals, law enforcement, corrections and emergency departments with nursing to collect evidence and maintain chain of custody/ evidence and care for patients
• Nurses can have a variety of roles: Sexual assault nurse examiners, clinical forensic nurses, forensic examiners or investigators, legal nurse consultants, forensic correctional nurses, nurse attorneys, or nurse coroners

Question 5

Preventions for Forensic Nurses

Answer 5

Levels of Prevention
* Primary
o Develop programs that promote safety and avoidance of violence
* Secondary
o Provide timely, direct care to injured, both victim and perpetrator of crime and violent behaviors
* Tertiary
o Refer clients to appropriate community services for follow-up care and rehabilitation

Question 6

School Nursing

Answer 6

• Provide up to date and appropriate direct care
• Collaborate w/ other health professionals and school staff
• Maintain school health policy
• Provide health promotion and maintenance to children, families and communities

Question 7

Preventions of School Nurses

Answer 7

Levels of Prevention
* Primary prevention
Teach healthy lifestyles
Immunizing children for school entry
Teach about safety

• Secondary prevention
  Provide screenings → vision/heating, depression, bullying, neglect, lice
  Assessment of illness and/or injury
  Care of an acute injury
  Emergency preparedness (disaster and emergency planning)
• Tertiary prevention
  Caring for children w/ chronic conditions (allergies, asthma, ADHD, autism, diabetes)