Community Nursing

Background:

Community health nursing is a branch of medical and paramedical intervention which concerns community health. Community is gathering of common characteristics and interested people within a region boundary. The application of nursing process in various level of population, communities, families to improve the quality of healthy life, prevent individuals from disease and rehabilitation. The main objective of community nursing is increase the standard of living to cope up with the disabilities so that high level wellness is achieved.

Basic principles of community health nursing:

In community health nursing, patients are normally considered as community. Unit of care is like family. Four levels of clientele are as follows.

• Individual
• Family
• Population group
• Community

In community health nursing, nurse is an active partner but not active recipient of nursing care. This practice can be affected by health technology development in addition to society. The objective is reachable by efforts of multi sector.  It is part of health care unit and at times performs more than human service system.

Community health nursing process:

Community health nursing process is a systematic, dynamic and scientific approach and interpersonal process where nursing staff and the ill patients are considered as system. This nursing process results in prescribed results. It results in optimal health care of a person.

• Assessment
  • Collection of data
  • Methods of collecting
  • Categories of health problems
• Developing nursing plan action
  • Goal setting
  • Construction of plan of action
  • Developing an operational plan
• Implementation of planned care by public health nurse
• Evaluation of nursing care and health services rendered

Role of public health nurse:

The individual who practice community health nursing are referred as public health nurse. The roles of public health nurse are as follows.

• Health educator
• Facilitator
• Supervisor
• Health care provider

 Specific responsibilities are

• Providing first aid measures
• Providing emergency plan
• Health care assistance provision
• Nursing care plan development, implementing nursing plan and evaluation of implementation
• Investigation of disease
• Supervision
• Recommendation to community

Questions:

• What are levels of clientele in community health nursing?
• What are basic principles of community health nursing?
• What are specific responsibilities of public health nurse?
• How public health nurse assess the need of community?
• What are community nursing processes?