The individual and the family as

clients in community and public

health nursing
1. The Family
2. The Family Health Nursing Process
3. The Family Nursing Care Plan
Learning Objectives
1. Discuss the levels of clientele in
community health nursing
2. Describe the different types of families
3. Analyze the individual and the family as a
health system
4. Explain why the family is the unit of
service in community and public health
nursing
5. Decide which specific type of family
nurse contact will be appropriate for a
particular family
6. Identify the most appropriate methods
and tools in performing family health
assessment
7. Utilize the nursing process in the care of
individuals within the family and the care
of the family as a whole.
FAMILY-NURSE CONTACTS
➢ It is defined as the meeting of nurse and family with its members
with an aim to identify and solve their health problems.
➢ The nurse family contact is made for the preventive, promotion,
curative and rehabilitative health services of the family.

Types:
1. Clinic Visit
2. Group Conference
3. Telephone Contact
4. Written Communication
5. Home Visit.
FAMILY-NURSE CONTACTS
1. Clinic Visit

• Private clinic, health center, barangay health station, rural health unit,
ambulatory clinic.
• Advantages:
> A family member takes the initiative of visiting the professional health
worker indicating readiness to participate in the health care process.
> The nurse can maximize resources .
> Distractions are lessened
• Disadvantages:
> The family is unable t transport the family member requiring nursing care.
> The family less confident to discuss family health concerns.
FAMILY-NURSE CONTACTS
2. Group Conference

• This is an initial contact between the nurse and target families of the
community.
• Appropriate for developing cooperation, leadership, sel-reliance, and or
community awareness among group members.
• Heath facility, community
• Example: mothers class
• Advantage:
> Gives an opportunity to share experiences and practical solutions to
common health concerns
• Disadvantage:
> attendance require motivation and availability of target family members.
FAMILY-NURSE CONTACTS
3. Telephone (landline or mobile/cell)

• Provides easy access between the nurse/health care worker and the family
by communicating concerns through call/text messaging.

• Advantage:
> Gives confidence of family member in health agency because they are
encouraged to communicate their health concerns if they feel the need
for it.

• Disadvantage:
> Accurate assessment of family conditions can not be obtained but by face
to-face.
FAMILY-NURSE CONTACTS
4. Written Communication

• Used to give specific information to families such as instruction

• Advantage:
> one –way method that can potentially reach to many families
• Disadvantages:
> Requires literacy and interest
> Uncertain that the information will reach the intended recepient
FAMILY-NURSE CONTACTS
5. Home Visit

• A professional, purposeful interaction that takes place in the family’s residence

aimed at promoting, maintaining, or restoring the health of the family or its
members.

• Family’s request, case finding, referral, follow-up clients who have utilized
services of a health facility such as a health center, lying-in clinic, or hospital.

• Advantages:
> Allows firsthand assessment of the home situation
> The nurse is able to seek out previously unidentified needs
> Gives the nurse an opportunity to adapt interventions according to family
resources
> Promotes family participation and focuses on the family as a unit
> Teaching family members is made easier
> Gives the family a sense of confidence in themselves and in the agency
PHASES OF A HOME VISIT
1. Pre-visit phase
2. In-home phase
3. Post- visit phase

PRE-VISIT PHASE
> A plan for the home visit is formulated during
this phase
PHASES OF A HOME VISIT
1. PRE-VISIT PHASE

Principles in planning for a home visit:

• A home visit should have a purpose.
• Use information about the family collected from all
possible sources
• The home plan focuses on identified family needs,
particularly needs recognized by the family as requiring
urgent attention.
• The client and the family should actively participate in
planning for continuing care
• The plan should be practical and adaptable.
PHASES OF A HOME VISIT
1. PRE-VISIT PHASE

Purposes of a home visit

• To have a more accurate assessment of the family’s living
conditions and adapt interventions accordingly.
• To educate the family members about measures for
health promotion, disease prevention, and control of
health problems.
• To prevent the spread of infection among family
members and within the community.
• To provide supplemental interventions for the sick,
disabled, or dependent family member
• To provide the family with greater access to health
resources in the community
PHASES OF A HOME VISIT
2. In-home phase
• The nurse seeks permission to enter and lasts until he or she leaves the family’s
home
• Consist of INITIATION, IMPLEMENTATION, and TERMINATION
• Initiation
> the nurse acknowledges the family member(s) with a
greeting and introduces himself/herself and the agency
he or she represents.
> the nurse initiates a short social conversation for a
rapport to start.
• Implementation
> the application of the nursing process.
> Family Assessment Form is used as guide for this purpose
• Termination
> Consists of summarizing with the family the events during the home
visit and setting a subsequent home visit or another form of family
nurse contact.
> Findings are recorded such as vital signs of family members, and body weight.
PHASES OF A HOME VISIT
3. Post-visit phase

• This is when the nurse has returned to the health facility.

• Consist of documentation of the visit personal observations,
and feelings of the nurse about the visit.
• If appropriate, a referral may be made.
• Planning for the next visit is done at this time if subsequent
visit has been set.
The Nursing Bag

➢ Frequently called the Public Health Nursing bag

➢ A traditional tool used by the nurse during
home and community visits to be able to
provide care safely and efficiently.