Public health nursing

Last updated

Public health nursing, also known as community health nursing is a nursing specialty focused on public health. The term was coined by Lillian Wald of the Henry Street Settlement, or, Public health nurses (PHNs) or community health nurses "integrate community involvement and knowledge about the entire population with personal, clinical understandings of the health and illness experiences of individuals and families within the population." [1] Public health nursing in the United States traces back to a nurse named Lillian Wald who, in 1893, established the Henry Street Settlement in New York City and coined the expression "public health nurse". A Public or Community Health Nurse is expected to comply with the duties and limitations of the American Nurse Association (ANA) publication Public Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice. [2]

Contents

Public health nurses work within communities and focus on different areas to improve the overall health of the people within that community. Some areas of employment for public health nurses are school districts, county or state health departments, and departments of correction. The public health nurse looks for areas of concern within the community and assesses and plans ways through which the concerns can be resolved or minimized. Some health concerns a public health nurse may work on are infection control, health maintenance, health coaching, as well as home care visits for welfare and to provide care to certain members of the community who may need it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [3] is a leading health indicator in preventing morbidity and mortality. Clinical preventative services such as immunizations and routine screenings for colorectal cancer, blood pressure control and diabetes management are key to improving the Nation's health. [4]

Public health nursing focuses on betterment of the community as a whole. Public health nursing is used to promote and protect the population through knowledge of caring for patients at the bedside, in the community, and through social aspects. The public health nurse must assess the needs of the population and limitations to care. Interventions then must be planned and put into place to produce the best possible outcome for the patient. The community health nurse then evaluates effectiveness of the plan while making changes. In combination, this allows the community health nurse to incorporate the community with the health of the patient. [5]

Credentials

To become a Public Health Nurse (PHN), one must be a Registered Nurse, licensed by the state and must possess a Baccalaureate Degree. [6] The ANA offers an ANCC credential for specialized Public Health Nursing known as the Advanced Public Health Nursing-Board Certified (APHN-BC) credential. [2] In some states, no additional education is required to begin working as a Public Health Nurse. Some jobs require a Public Health Nurse Certificate and most jobs require on the job training. [7] This certificate is offered at many institutions across the United States and many can be completed online such as the National Board of Public Health Examiners' Certification in Public Health (NBPHE). This certification requires a bachelor's degree, five years of public health work experience as well as the passing of the exam. This exam covers many fields of study including leadership, ethics, program administration, policies and health equity. [8]

Due to COVID-19, there is a great need for more healthcare professionals in all scopes of practice. As responders to public health emergencies, Public Health Nurses play a major role in providing care to the communities in which they serve. Their role during a pandemic involves providing education, especially to those that have tested positive or been exposed and need to isolate. [9] They also participate in hotlines where the community members can call with questions and give up to date information from the Center for Disease Control. [9] The role of the PHN encompasses promoting healthy lifestyles, identifying people at risk for diseases, and aid in disease prevention which are all ever so important currently.

There are four major actions that PHN organizations can take to promote and expand PHN certification: (1) increase awareness, (2) provide education and coaching on the advanced PHN certification by portfolio process, (3) expand the definition of practice hours for certification to be more inclusive of population‐level practice particularly for faculty whose ability to accrue practice hours is limited by teaching, scholarship, and service demands, and (4) reinstitute BSN certification. Increasing awareness of the PHN certification and support for applicants is critical to the continued viability of this certification. PHN organizations can accomplish this through a comprehensive credentialing marketing campaign including dissemination of promotional materials, collaborative conferences, webinars, and strategies. PHN organizations can target local and state health departments, school districts, colleges and universities, and other nursing associations. The initial focus will be master's‐prepared nurses as there is currently not a credentialing mechanism for baccalaureate‐prepared nurses. [10]

Background

Public health nurses deliver planned activities that require to protect and promote health in patients that require care. Public health is fundamental to the UK's philosophy for health achievement and attainment over time. It is a central feature of the contemporary health strategy which sets to prepare the way for the population's health and wellbeing up to 2030 and is widely accepted to be everyone's business. [11] There are three main objectives for public health nurses: to prevent illness in individuals and promote healthy lifestyle, protect individuals from disease by the use of immunizations and by monitoring the disease process, and by creating long-term changes in communities through education and health promoting activities. Obviously, correct implementation of the nursing care program is vital in the process of educating and providing guidance to vulnerable families and community groups in order to empower family self-care. [12]

Public health nurses focus on the entire community's population along with the individual and family population. [13] Community and Public Health Nurses apply health promotion and preventative health concepts to individuals, families, groups, aggregates, and populations with an upstream focus in a variety of settings. They put an emphasis on preventative care and basic health education. [14] Their goal is to reduce disease and improve the quantity and quality of life of the general public. [14] Public health nurses work in a variety of settings such as public health agencies, non-profit groups, and educational organizations. [14] They collaborate with health planners and policy makers to make changes and act as an advocate for a particular community. [13] They analyze the issues and patterns within a community and assist in developing interventions or strategies for more effective outcomes. [13] (apaulCSU)

Public health nurses may practice in the community on their own, or within a group of several public health nurses. Either way, the public health nurse engages the patient and the community to generate a fruitful outcome. Interventions and strategies may be targeted on the functional level of the patient, promoting return to baseline functioning, or improvement. Strategies for success are aimed at an entire population, group, family, or individual. Through interventions and strategies, the public health nurse can aim at prevention of illness, injury or disability, the promotion of health, and the maintenance of health populations. [5]

Apart from prevention of illness, public health nurses also focus on the promotion of health and maintenance of the health of certain populations. [13] Their role is to keep the public safe and respond to community needs. They provide a linkage between epidemiological data and clinical understanding of health issues. [13]  Public health education has been essential throughout the years for preventing certain conditions. Promoting vaccinations and infection control techniques has assisted the public in reducing contagious disease transmission. [14] Nurses are needed at every aspect of public work from education campaigns to implementation of hygiene and sanitation initiatives. [14] (apaulCSU)

Dissemination and implementation (D&I) science is an emerging priority in public health and medicine in the United States and globally. There is strong interest from the National Academy of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, and the World Health Organization in narrowing the gap between research (what we know) and practice (what we do). As a rapidly growing field, implementation science has focused on understanding factors and strategies that influence the initial adoption and integration of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) in real-world settings. Whereas significant advancements have been made in understanding the adoption and implementation of EBIs across a range of community and health care settings, less is known about their sustainability. Recently, experts have prioritized sustainability as an understudied area, identifying it as “one of the most significant translational research problems of our time” and as a persistent challenge across a range of settings and service delivery sectors, and across health behaviors and outcomes (Shelton et al., 2018).

Related Research Articles

Occupational therapists (OTs) are health care professionals specializing in occupational therapy and occupational science. OTs and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) use scientific bases and a holistic perspective to promote a person's ability to fulfill their daily routines and roles. OTs have immense training in the physical, psychological, and social aspects of human functioning deriving from an education grounded in anatomical and physiological concepts, and psychological perspectives. They enable individuals across the lifespan by optimizing their abilities to perform activities that are meaningful to them ("occupations"). Human occupations include activities of daily living, work/vocation, play, education, leisure, rest and sleep, and social participation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occupational therapy</span> Healthcare profession

Occupational therapy (OT) is a healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or occupations, of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of OT consists of health care practitioners trained and educated to improve mental and physical performance. Occupational therapists specialize in teaching, educating, and supporting participation in any activity that occupies an individual's time. It is an independent health profession sometimes categorized as an allied health profession and consists of occupational therapists (OTs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs). While OTs and OTAs have different roles, they both work with people who want to improve their mental and or physical health, disabilities, injuries, or impairments.

A dietitian, medical dietitian, or dietician is an expert in identifying and treating disease-related malnutrition and in conducting medical nutrition therapy, for example designing an enteral tube feeding regimen or mitigating the effects of cancer cachexia. Many dietitians work in hospitals and usually see specific patients where a nutritional assessment and intervention has been requested by a doctor or nurse, for example if a patient has lost their ability to swallow or requires artificial nutrition due to intestinal failure. Dietitians are regulated healthcare professionals licensed to assess, diagnose, and treat such problems. In the United Kingdom, dietitian is a 'protected title', meaning identifying yourself as a dietitian without appropriate education and registration is prohibited by law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oncology nursing</span>

An oncology nurse is a specialized nurse who cares for cancer patients. These nurses require advanced certifications and clinical experiences in oncology further than the typical baccalaureate nursing program provides. Oncology nursing care can be defined as meeting the various needs of oncology patients during the time of their disease including appropriate screenings and other preventive practices, symptom management, care to retain as much normal functioning as possible, and supportive measures upon end of life.

Pediatric nursing is part of the nursing profession, specifically revolving around the care of neonates and children up to adolescence. The word, pediatrics, comes from the Greek words 'paedia' (child) and 'iatrike' (physician). 'Paediatrics' is the British/Australian spelling, while 'pediatrics' is the American spelling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletic trainer</span>

An athletic trainer is a certified and licensed health care professional who practices in the field of sports medicine. Athletic training has been recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA) as an allied health care profession since 1990.

Home health nursing is a nursing specialty in which nurses provide multidimensional home care to patients of all ages. Home health care is a cost efficient way to deliver quality care in the convenience of the client's home. Home health nurses create care plans to achieve goals based on the client's diagnosis. These plans can include preventive, therapeutic, and rehabilitative actions. Home health nurses also supervise certified nursing assistants. The professional nursing organization for home health nurses is the Home Healthcare Nurses Association (HHNA). Home health care is intended for clients that are well enough to be discharged home, but still require skilled nursing personnel to assess, initiate and oversee nursing interventions.

A clinical nurse specialist (CNS) is an advanced practice nurse who can provide advice related to specific conditions or treatment pathways. According to the International Council of Nurses (ICN), an Advanced Practice Nurse is a registered nurse who has acquired the expert knowledge base, complex decision-making skills and clinical competencies for expanded practice, the characteristics of which are shaped by the context and/or country in which s/he is credentialed to practice. Clinical Nurse Specialists are registered nurses who have had graduate level nursing preparation at the master's or doctoral level as a CNS. They are clinical experts in evidence-based nursing practice within a specialty area, treating and managing the health concerns of patients and populations. The CNS specialty may be focused on individuals, populations, settings, type of care, type of problem, or diagnostic systems subspecialty. CNSs practice autonomously and integrate knowledge of disease and medical treatments into the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of patients' illnesses. These nurses design, implement, and evaluate both patient–specific and population-based programs of care. CNSs provide leadership in the advanced practice of nursing to achieve quality and cost-effective patient outcomes as well as provide leadership of multidisciplinary groups in designing and implementing innovative alternative solutions that address system problems and/or patient care issues. In many jurisdictions, CNSs, as direct care providers, perform comprehensive health assessments, develop differential diagnoses, and may have prescriptive authority. Prescriptive authority allows them to provide pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments and order diagnostic and laboratory tests in addressing and managing specialty health problems of patients and populations. CNSs serve as patient advocates, consultants, and researchers in various settings.

Faith Community Nursing, also known as Parish Nursing, Parrish Nursing, Congregational Nursing or Church Nursing, is a movement of over 15,000 registered nurses, primarily in the United States. There are also Parish nurses in Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, England, Ghana, India, Kenya, Korea, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Palestine, Pakistan, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Swaziland, Ukraine, Wales, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Faith community nursing is a practice specialty that focuses on the intentional care of the spirit, promotion of an integrative model of health and prevention and minimization of illness within the context of a community of faith. The intentional integration of the practice of faith with the practice of nursing so that people can achieve wholeness in, with, and through the population which faith community nurses serve.

Case management is a managed care technique within the health care coverage system of the United States. It involves an integrated system that manages the delivery of comprehensive healthcare services for enrolled patients. Case managers are employed in almost every aspect of health care and these employ different approaches in the control of clinical actions.

Health advocacy or health activism encompasses direct service to the individual or family as well as activities that promote health and access to health care in communities and the larger public. Advocates support and promote the rights of the patient in the health care arena, help build capacity to improve community health and enhance health policy initiatives focused on available, safe and quality care. Health advocates are best suited to address the challenge of patient-centered care in our complex healthcare system. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines patient-centered care as: Health care that establishes a partnership among practitioners, patients, and their families to ensure that decisions respect patients’ wants, needs, and preferences and that patients have the education and support they need to make decisions and participate in their own care. Patient-centered care is also one of the overreaching goals of health advocacy, in addition to safer medical systems, and greater patient involvement in healthcare delivery and design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerontological nursing</span> Specialty of nursing pertaining to older adults

Gerontological nursing is the specialty of nursing pertaining to older adults. Gerontological nurses work in collaboration with older adults, their families, and communities to support healthy aging, maximum functioning, and quality of life. The term gerontological nursing, which replaced the term geriatric nursing in the 1970s, is seen as being more consistent with the specialty's broader focus on health and wellness, in addition to illness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dental public health</span>

Dental Public Health (DPH) is a para-clinical specialty of dentistry that deals with the prevention of oral disease and promotion of oral health. Dental public health is involved in the assessment of key dental health needs and coming up with effective solutions to improve the dental health of populations rather than individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nursing</span> Health care profession

Nursing is a profession within the healthcare sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other healthcare providers by their approach to patient care, training, and scope of practice. Nurses practice in many specialties with differing levels of prescription authority. Nurses comprise the largest component of most healthcare environments; but there is evidence of international shortages of qualified nurses. Nurses collaborate with other healthcare providers such as physicians, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, and psychologists. Unlike nurse practitioners, nurses typically cannot prescribe medications in the US. Nurse practitioners are nurses with a graduate degree in advanced practice nursing. They practice independently in a variety of settings in more than half of the United States. Since the postwar period, nurse education has undergone a process of diversification towards advanced and specialized credentials, and many of the traditional regulations and provider roles are changing.

Ambulatory care nursing is the nursing care of patients who receive treatment on an outpatient basis, ie they do not require admission to a hospital for an overnight stay. Ambulatory care includes those clinical, organizational and professional activities engaged in by registered nurses with and for individuals, groups, and populations who seek assistance with improving health and/or seek care for health-related problems. The American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) describes ambulatory care nursing as a comprehensive practice which is built on a broad knowledge base of nursing and health sciences, and applies clinical expertise rooted in the nursing process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holistic nursing</span>

Holistic nursing is a way of treating and taking care the patient as a whole body which involves physical, social environment, psychological, cultural and religious beliefs. There are many theories that support the importance of nurses approaching the patient holistically and how education on this are there to support the goal of holistic nursing. The important skill to be used in holistic nursing would be communicating skills with patients and other practitioners. This emphasizes that patients being treated would be treated not only their body but also mind and spirit.. Holistic nursing is a nursing speciality concerning the integration of one's mind, body, and spirit with his or her environment. This speciality has a theoretical basis in a few grand nursing theories, most notably the science of unitary human beings, as published by Martha E. Rogers in An Introduction to the Theoretical Basis of Nursing, and the mid-range theory Empowered Holistic Nursing Education, as published by Dr. Katie Love. Holistic nursing has gained recognition by the American Nurses Association (ANA) as a nursing specialty with a defined scope of practice and standards. Holistic nursing focuses on the mind, body, and spirit working together as a whole and how spiritual awareness in nursing can help heal illness. Holistic medicine focuses on maintaining optimum well-being and preventing rather than just treating disease.

Occupational health nursing is a specialty nursing practice that provides for and delivers health and safety programs and services to workers, worker populations, and community groups. The practice focuses on promotion, maintenance and restoration of health, prevention of illness and injury, and protection from work‐related and environmental hazards. Occupational health nurses (OHNs) aim to combine knowledge of health and business to balance safe and healthful work environments and a "healthy" bottom line.

Chronic disease in Northern Ontario is a population health problem. The population in Northern Ontario experiences worse outcomes on a number of important health indicators, including higher rates of chronic disease compared to the population in the rest of Ontario.

A Mental Health Nurse (MHN) refers to a psychiatric nurse in the UK, who specialises in the care of patients with mental health issues.

An acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP) is a registered nurse who has completed an accredited graduate-level educational program that prepares them as a nurse practitioner. This program includes supervised clinical practice to acquire advanced knowledge, skills, and abilities. This education and training qualifies them to independently: (1) perform comprehensive health assessments; (2) order and interpret the full spectrum of diagnostic tests and procedures; (3) use a differential diagnosis to reach a medical diagnosis; and (4) order, provide, and evaluate the outcomes of interventions. The purpose of the ACNP is to provide advanced nursing care across the continuum of health care services to meet the specialized physiologic and psychological needs of patients with acute, critical, and/or complex chronic health conditions. This care is continuous and comprehensive and may be provided in any setting where the patient may be found. The ACNP is a licensed independent practitioner and may autonomously provide care. Whenever appropriate, the ACNP considers formal consultation and/or collaboration involving patients, caregivers, nurses, physicians, and other members of the interprofessional team.

References

  1. ↑ "Public Health Nursing Section". APHA. May 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  2. 1 2 American Nurses Association. (n.d.). Our Certifications. Retrieved October 28, 2020 from https://www.nursingworld.org/our-certifications/
  3. ↑ "Clinical Preventative Services". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  4. ↑ "National center for health statistics: Leading health indicators". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. April 2, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Public Health Nursing Manual". Center for Local Public Health Services. Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services. 2020.
  6. ↑ "Public Health Nurse". ExploreHealthCareers.org. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Certification for Public Health Nursing". www.aacnnursing.org. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  8. ↑ "NBPHE" . Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  9. 1 2 Edmonds JK, Kneipp SM, Campbell L (May 2020). "A call to action for public health nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic". Public Health Nursing. 37 (3): 323–324. doi:10.1111/phn.12733. PMC   7262140 . PMID   32281160.
  10. ↑ Vandenhouten CL, DeVance-Wilson CL, Little BB (2015). "Credentialing Public Health Nurses: Current Issues and Next Steps Forward". Public Health Nursing. Boston, Mass. 32 (5): 565–76. doi:10.1111/phn.12206. PMID   26076925.
  11. ↑ Ezhova I, Sayer L, Newland R, Davis N, McLetchie-Holder S, Burrows P, Middleton L, Malone ME (July 2020). "Models and frameworks that enable nurses to develop their public health practice-A scoping study". Journal of Clinical Nursing. 29 (13–14): 2150–2160. doi:10.1111/jocn.15267. PMID   32246732. S2CID   214785515.
  12. ↑ Susanto T, Bachtiar S, Turwantoko T (April 2019). "Performance of Public Health Nurses and Coverage of the Nursing Care Program by Community Health Centers in Jember, Indonesia". International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery. 7 (2): 161–168. PMC   6456767 . PMID   31041326.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Role of public health nurses". Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "Role of public health nurses in communicable disease control". Arkansas State University. 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.