Community Health Nursing

MARISSA S. FERNANDEZ, RN,MAN

 COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING: AN OVERVIEW
Community - group of people with common characteristics or
interests living together within a territory or geographical boundary
!place where people under usual conditions are found.
What is health?
- Health-illness continuum
- High-level wellness
- Agent-host-environment
- Health belief
- Evolutionary-based
- Health promotion
- WHO definition
 Community health - part of paramedical and medical intervention/
approach which is concerned on the health of the whole
population !aims:
 1. health promotion
 2. disease prevention
 3. management of factors affecting health
 Nursing - assisting sick individuals to become healthy and healthy
individuals achieve optimum wellness.
 Public Health Nursing: the term used before for Community Health
Nursing
 1. Prevention of Disease
 2. Prolonging life
 3. Promotion of health and efficiency through organized community
effort.
 Community Health Nursing:
 = “The utilization of the nursing process in the different levels of
clientele-individuals, families, population groups and communities,
concerned with the promotion of health, prevention of disease and
disability and rehabilitation.”
 = A specialized field of nursing practice
 = A science of Public Health combined with Public Health Nursing
Skills and Social Assistance with the goal of raising the level of health
of the citizenry, to raise optimum level of functioning of the citizenry
(Characteristic of CHN)
 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CHN
 1. " The community is the patient in CHN, the family is the unit of
care and there are four levels of clientele: individual, family,
population group (those who share common characteristics,
developmental stages and common exposure to health problems –
e.g. children, elderly), and the community.
 2. " In CHN, the client is considered as an ACTIVE partner NOT
PASSIVE recipient of care
 3. CHN practice is affected by developments in health technology,
in particular, changes in society, in general
 4. " The goal of CHN is achieved through multi-sectoral efforts
 5. " CHN is a part of health care system and the larger human
services system.
 ROLES OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE
 Clinician, who is a health care provider, taking care of the sick
people at home or in the RHU Health
 Educator, who aims towards health promotion and illness prevention
through dissemination of correct information; educating people
 Facilitator, who establishes multi-sectoral linkages by referral system
 Supervisor, who monitors and supervises the performance of
midwives

 TARGET POPULATION (IFC) ARE:

 1. I ndividual
 2. F amily
 3. C ommunity
 3 Elements considered in CHN:
 # Science of Public Health (core foundation in CHN),
 # Public Health Nursing Skills and
 # Social Assistance Functions

 OBJECTIVES OF PUBLIC HEALTH: CODES

 C ontrol of Communicable Diseases
 O rganization of Medical and Nursing Services
 D evelopment of Social Machineries
 E ducation of IFC on personal Hygiene→ Health Education is the
essential task of every health worker
 S anitation of the environment
 3 ELEMENTS IN HEALTH EDUCATION: IEC
 1. I nformation: to share ideas to keep population group
knowledgeable and aware
 2. E ducation: change within the individual
 = 3 Key Elements of Education:
 - K nowledge
 - A ttitude
 - S kills
 3. C ommunication: interaction involving 2 or more persons or
agencies
 = 3 Elements of Communication:
 - Message
 - Sender
 - Receiver
 PUBLIC HEALTH WORKERS (PHW) PHW’s: are members of the health
team who are professionals namely
 !Medical Officer (MO)-Physician
 !Public Health Nurse (PHN)-Registered Nurse
 !Rural Health Midwife (RHM)-Registered Midwife-
 !Dentist !Nutritionist
 !Medical Technologist
 !Pharmacist
 !Rural Sanitary Inspector (RSI)-must be a sanitary engineer
 Functions of DOH:
 5 MAJOR FUNCTIONS:
 1. Ensure equal access to basic health services
 2. Ensure formulation of national policies for proper division of labor
and proper coordination of operations among the government
agency jurisdictions
 3. Ensure a minimum level of implementation nationwide of services
regarded as public health goods
 4. Plan and establish arrangements for the public health systems to
achieve economies of scale
 5. Maintain a medium of regulations and standards to protect
consumers and guide providers