DINSHA PATEL COLLEGE OF NURSING

FIELD EXPERIENCE IN
PUBLIC HEALTH
Prepared by :
Mr. Kailash Nagar
Assistant Professor
 By the end of this presentation,
participants will be able to…
1. Define Public Health & Public Health
Nursing
2. Importance of Field Experience in
Nursing Education
DEFINATION
Public Health is the science and art
of preventing diseases, prolonging
life and promoting health and
efficiency through organized
community efforts for the sanitation
of the environment, the control of
communicable infections, the
education of individuals in personal
hygiene. By World Health
Organization
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Public Health in India

~Vision~
Healthy People in Healthy Communities

~Mission~
Promote physical and mental health
and
Prevent disease, injury, disability
1. What is a
community?
A group of people with common
characteristics or interests living
together within a territory or
geographical boundary

place where people under usual

conditions are found

The community is the object or

focus of care in CHN, with the
family as the unit of service.

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 2. What Is Health?

A state of complete
physical, mental, and
social well-being and
not merely the
absence of disease
and infirmity (WHO,
1995).

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Public Health…

 Prevents epidemics and the spread

of disease

 Protects against environmental

hazards

 Responds to disasters and assists

communities in recovery
Public Health…

 Prevents injuries

 Promotes healthy behaviors

 Assures the quality and accessibility

of health services
 Public health nursing is the practice of
promoting and protecting the health of
population using knowledge of nursing,
social and public health sciences.
 Concept of Public Health Nursing
 CLIENTS of Community
Health Nurse
 Composed of different levels
of clientele: Individual, family,
population group, and
community

• Community as a SETTING for

CHN PRACTICE
• School Health Nursing-
School
• Occupational Health Nursing-
Workplace
• Public Health Nursing-Home

25-Jun-21 11
Public Health Nursing
Focus : promotion and preservation of health

Area of Content : skills and knowledge relevant to both

nursing and public health
Clients : general populations (individuals,
families, communities)

Time : continual, not limited to episodic care

Scope : comprehensive and general, not limited to a

particular age or group

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Community Health Nursing Practice
 Is focussed on wellness not sickness.
 Is focussed on prevention not just treatment
of problems.
 Is focussed on assisting people and
communities make their own decisions
regarding health care.
 Is focussed on assisting those with existing
health conditions to maximise their potential
and prevent deterioration if possible.
Cont…

 Is based in the community in a range of

settings, wherever there is a need for support,
information and education.

 Responds to public health needs in relation

to communicable diseases.
Cont…

 Utilises the primary health care philosophy to

guide practice.
 Has a specialised body of knowledge which
reflects current research and evidence based
practice.
FIELD EXPERIENCE

 It may be defined as a teaching

method by which the student studies
first hand objects and materials in their
natural environment, it may include
visits to special departments and units
in the hospital, to outside agencies and
to community services.
 Preparation of Nursing Students in
Public Health Setting
Nurses require sound preparation to function as community health
nurses/public health nurses.
Knowledge Regarding Skills
They need to have skills
 Community dynamics  Community identification
 Community health concepts  Community health assessment
 Epidemiological concepts of health diagnosis
problems  Community organization
 Health planning administration and  Team functioning
delivery system  Collection and compilation of vital
health statistics
PURPOSES

 Gains first hand knowledge of the

community services and agencies
and their relationships to the
hospital in helping the client.

 Develop a better understanding of

the aetiology factors of disease –
housing, sanitation, economic
conditions, industry.
Cont…

 Provides actual source

material for study.

 Arouses interest and vitalizes

instruction, there by providing
motivation.

 Serve as an effective means of

correlating the subjects of the
curriculum.
PRACTICAL CONCERNS
1. Field experience are time
consuming.

2. Field experience has to be planned

at the convenience of the
establishment visited, so it may not
correlate with the most effective
time in the curriculum.

3. If the size of the group is large, it

may be divided into smaller groups
and this may take up considerable
time at the place visited.
 SCIENTIFIC REVIEW
Optimal health implies wellness
in all dimensions of human
being. The individual is one
whole comprised of body, mind,
soul and social entity which are
blended together and not in
isolated compartments. Blum
title is as “Force Field and
wellbeing paradigm of Health”.
Cont…
 Nursing education should train qualified nurses to
respond to the needs of clients, based on the changes
in the health-care system and its objectives.
 The performance of the community health nurse
depends on a comprehensive combination of scientific
and practical competencies which are acquired during
the nursing course.
 Curriculum planners of nursing education need to
understand to train professional and community-
oriented nurses.
Cont…
 Despite the program
syllabus, students
considered hospitals as the
work place for nurses.

 This type of view leads to

lack of enough motivation
for good practice and
leads to weak attitude
toward community
orientation.
 Problems Faced during Practical Experience
in Public Heath Setting
 Delshad (2005) said “One of the main challenges for community-oriented
nursing care” is lack of position for community health nurses”.

 The findings of Saberian (2003) revealed that 20.51% of the participants

believed that community health nursing is irrelevant to the nursing
profession. In the study by Dalir (2011), internal motivation of students
decreased during their study.

 Lack of preparedness of students is conducive to a decrease in motivation

and leads to a decrease in confidence of clients. In a study by Leh (2006),
lack of confidence and preparedness were mentioned in the experiences of
students.
Conclusion
 Public health is everywhere, it is at
work everyday, and it affects
everyone. It fulfills its mission in
ways so invisible that few working
outside of the world of public
health will even notice.
Nonetheless, to maintain and
ensure the health of our
communities, we as public health
leaders must continue to face the
challenges of the new millennium.
References
 Swarnkar’s, Community Health Nursing, 3rd, 2012, 24-25.
 K.K. Gulani, Community Health Nursing, Principles and Practice,, 1st
, 2007, 47-51
 Pamela A. Kulbok, DNSc, RN, PHCNS-BC,
Online J Issues Nursing. 2012;17(2)
 Gebbie K, Raziano A, Elliott S. Public health workforce
enumeration. American Journal of Public Health. 2009; 99(5): 786-
787.
 Quad Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations. The public
health nursing shortage: a threat to the public’s health. [place
unknown]: Quad Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations;
2007.
http://www.astdn.org/downloadablefiles/Final%20Nursing%20Shortage%20Pa
per.pdf. .
References
 Quiram B, Meit M, Carpender K, Penne C, Castillo G, Duchicela D.
Rural public health infrastructure: a literature review [Internet]. In
gamm, L & Hutchison, L (Eds.) Rural healthy people 2010: a
companion document to healthy people 2010. Volume 3; College
Station, TX: The Texas A&M University System Health Science
Center, School of Rural Public Health, Southwest Rural Health
Research Center; 2005. Available form:
http://www.srph.tamhsc.edu/centers/rhp2010/Volume_3/Vol3Ch5LR
.htm
 American Nurses Association. Public health nursing scope and
standards of practice. Silver Spring (MD): American Nurses
Association, 2007.