LESSON 5

ROLES OF THE COMMUNITY

HEALTH NURSE IN E-HEALTH

ANDREA MABALOT
KRISTINE MANGALAO
REENE FAYE MARQUEZ
WHAT IS COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSE??

 A community health nurse or public health nurse identifies people in need and reaches out to them. Whether
they are helping young pregnant women, the elderly or victims of crime, community health nurses spearhead
efforts to aid vulnerable groups of people. 
 Community health nurses fill health system gaps for underserved populations. They go to organizations,
schools, and businesses to offer health education, medical services, and rehabilitation.
WHAT IS E-HEALTH??

 eHealth is the delivery of health care using modern electronic information and communication technologies when
health care providers and patients are not directly in contact and their interaction is mediated by electronic means.
 use of digital technologies and telecommunications, such as computers, the Internet, and mobile devices, to 
facilitate health improvement and health care services. ( delivery of information directed to the patient and the
health care consumer).
E-HEALTH FOR NURSES

 E-health can support health care processes in order to ensure quality, patient safety, a person-centered
approach(focusing care on the needs of individual) and continuity in the care process.
=Benefits of e-health to nurses:
 Provides quick access to patient records and information for efficient health care.

 Reduces paper work, reduced duplication of costs etc. thus reducing the cost of health care.

 Reduces medical errors and better clinical decision making.

ROLES OF COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSES IN E-HEALTH

 Advances in IT may also help the nurse in optimizing efforts towards maintaining an open line of communication with clients, paving
the way for establishing and maintaining rapport. IT literally at the fingertips of the nurse provides greater opportunity to learn more
about clients and their conditions; eHealth, however, cannot be a replacement for actual patient care. It is best viewed as a powerful
tool for nurses- bridging gaps and improving access especially in a resource- constrained country like the Philippines.
 The following are the major roles of an eHealth nurse in the Philippine community setting:

 Data and Records Manager

 Change Agent

 Educator

 Telepresenter

 Client Advocate

 Researcher
DATA AND RECORDS MANAGER

 As data and records managers, community health nurses monitor the trends of diseases through the EMR,
allowing for targeted interventions for health promotion, disease prevention, curative services, or rehabilitation.
CHANGE AGENT

 Nurses act as change agents by working closely with the community and implementing eHealth with them and
not for them. Change agents do not force technology on the community, but inform and guide the community
in selecting and applying appropriate ICT tools.
EDUCATOR

 Nurses provide health education to individuals and families through ICT tools( e.g., teleconference, SMS, e-
mail, and virtual/simulated environment). They may also participate in making e-learning videos on specific
diseases(e.g., diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis) which the patients can watch during their waiting time in health
centers.
TELEPRESENTER

 In the event that a patient needs to be referred to a remote, medical specialist through telemedicine, nurses
may function as a telepresenter.
CLIENT ADVOCATE

 As client advocates, community health nurses must safeguard patient records, ensuring that security,
confidentiality, and privacy of all patient information are being upheld. This becomes more challenging
especially because with technology, transfer of information can happen instantly.
RESEARCHER

 Using eHealth tools (e.g., EMRs), patient records can easily be retrieved and analyzed retrospectively by
community eHealth nurses. They are responsible for identifying possible points for research and developing a
framework, based on data aggregated by the system.