The Role of Nursing in Public Health

7/28/2019 The Role of Nursing in Public Health

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THE ROLE OF NURSING

IN PUBLIC HEALTHSarah Coulter Danner MSN CPNP CNM

Chairperson, Department of NursingOglala Lakota College


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Definition of Public Health Nursing

Public health nursing is the practice ofpromoting and protecting the health ofpopulations using knowledge of nursing,socialand public health sciences


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Systematic Approach

1. Assess the health and health care needs of apopulation in order to identify sub-populations,families and individuals who would benefit from

health promotion or who are at risk of illness,injury, disability or premature death

2.Develop a plan with the community to meet

the identified needs taking into account availableresources


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Systematic Approach

3. Implement the plan at the community, familyor individual level

4.Evaluate the impact of the intervention

5.Use the results of the evaluation to influenceand direct current delivery of care, deploymentof health resources and the development of

local, state and national health policy andresources to promote health and preventdisease.


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Role of the Public Health Nurse

To: Provide input to interdisciplinary programsthat monitor, anticipate and respond to healthproblems in population groups for all diseases or

public health threats including bioterrorism

To: Evaluate health trends and risk factors ofpopulation groups to help determine priorities

forming targeted interventions


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Role of the Public Health Nurse

To:

Work with the community or specificpopulation groups to develop targeted health

promotion and disease prevention activities To: Evaluate health care services

To: Provide health education, care, management

and primary care to individuals and families whoare members of vulnerable populations and highrisk groups


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Public health nurses integrate

community involvement andknowledge of the entire population

with the personal clinical

understandings of health and illnessgleaned from the experiences of

individuals and families within the

population.


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The nurse working in public healthshould be a voice for members of the

community to voice problems anddesires


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The public health nurse can applyher knowledge of strategies to

choose the intervention(s) that meets

the needs of a particular community,family or individual


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The nurse is the agent who translates

and applies the knowledge of health

and social sciences to individualsand population groups through

specific interventions, programs and

advocacy


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He or she also articulates andtranslates health and illness

experiences of diverse, often

vulnerable, individuals and familiesto the health planners and policy

makers


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Standards of practice have been

established by the American NursesAssociation


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The Quad Council, made up of four

public health nursing organizations,has established core competencies


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These competencies reflect anagreement by the Quad Council that

the public health nurse requirespreparation at the baccalaureate

level.


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However, in many states nurses

doing public health work are notbaccalaureate graduates.


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Even early on, the shortage of nurses

affected the hiring of BSN or MSN

prepared nurses. Public healthdepartments could not compete with

hospital systems.


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The specialist level competencies

require preparation at the Masters

level in community and /or public

health nursing.


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Associate degree RNs need extensive

orientation and education to achievethe competencies.


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Having said that, with the shortageof nurses continuing and getting

worse over the next decade what can

we do as nurse educators to ensurethat some public health framework

is included in curriculum at the

Associate Degree level?


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We bring some statistics to the

attention of our students.


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In a recent government funded study

at the Harvard School of Publlic

Health, Dr. Christopher Murray

stated that the five counties with thelowest life expectancy were all in

South Dakota and three of the

counties make up the Pine RidgeIndian Reservation.


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Shannon, Bennett and Jackson

Counties have a 66.6 year life

expectancy. These are the counties

that comprise Pine Ridge Indianreservation. Todd County part of

Rosebud Indian reservation has the

same life expectancy.


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In Clear Creek County in

neighboring Colorado a person canexpect to live to 81.3 years.


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Even with the five counties with the

lowest life expectancy in the US,

South Dakota placed 18th in stateranking with a life expectancy of

77.7.


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What conclusions can be drawn?


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These are statistics that mean

something to our students. This ishome to most of them.


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A brief introduction to statistics

helps these students to interpret data

that describes the incidence of Type2 Diabetes, heart disease, obesity,

immune system disorders, cancer,

suicide, depression and MVAs


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They all have relatives with at least

one of these diseases.


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Community Service Projects that

impact pieces of this morbidity andmortality.


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Creating an awareness


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An important piece of service

learning is the students reflectionsand how it changed their lives and

their view of their community


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N. 218 Foundations of Holistic

Nursing CareFall Semester Each student will complete:

10 hours- Case Study of elderly individual withinthe community- home or assisted living facility

Comprehensive health assessment

Nursing diagnoses

Assessment of medications and environment

Process recordings


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N. 224 Maternity Nursing

Shadow visit with Community Health Nurse

for Postpartum/Newborn visit

Nursing student then makes one home visit on anew postpartum mother and her newborn andmakes an assessment.


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SIDS, postpartum

depression,imunizations


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Nursing 234:Students spend time serving in a

nearby soup kitchen and at the Pine

Ridge jail

for this course on mental health

imbalances


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Reflections


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In Nursing 324 the topic for the term

paper must be taken from theHealthy People 2010 Objectives.

In this course focusing on the


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In this course focusing on thewholistic health of children and their

families, the students must, in pairsor small groups, prepare and present

an educational session to parents or

the targeted children concerning anarea of risk to their health such as the

prevention of tooth decay, promotion

of self esteem, nutrition and activity,

preventing STIs, accidents in the

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The Role of Nursing in Public Health