Question

Define public health nursing.

What are the three core functions of the public health nurse: assessment, policy development and assurance.

Help me explain and understand how population-focused nursing practice is different from clinical nursing care delivered in the community.

Answer 1

Public health nursing is the practice of promoting and protecting the health of populations using knowledge from nursing,social and public health science.evaluations are conducted to determine the extent to which the intervention has an impact on the health status of individuals and the population.

Three core functions of the public health nurse are ,

1. Assessment
2. Policy development
3. Assurance.

ASSESMENT

• Monitor health status of community
• Diagnose and investigate health problems /hazards

POLICY DEVELOPMENT

• Inform, educate and empower people regarding health issues.
• Mobilize community partnerships to solve community problems
• Develop policies to achieve health goals

ASSURANCE

• Enforce laws to protect health safety
• Link people to needed personal health services
• Assure competent and skilled work force
• Evaluate effectivness and quality of health services

Community nursing aims to lower the risk of patients who have needed hospital treatments,while nurses at hospitals deal with illnesses usually after they have progressed.

For Hospital health nurse the unit of services has a single focus ,the individual hospitalized patient or patient in a ward unit.For community nurse has unit of services has double focus, small group family.the nurse concerned with subgroups in community.

Hospital nurses focused on treatment and care of sick and on restoring the individuals balance towards health.Community nurse focused on promoting health ,also maintain a degree of balance towards health eraly detection of disease and also measuring care.

Hospital nurse can communicate their findings to the physician for managing the patient care.Community nurse is solely responsible for a patient care and may take independent decision according to the patient condition such as referral.

Hospital nurse may care a definite patient once in the whole life of that patient.Community nurse has the oppertunity to build long term relationships with the community patients and may visit several times in a week or month.