Virtual Book Display: Nursing: Community & Public Health

Population health is defined as “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group.” These groups are often geographic populations such as nations or communities, but they can also consist of ethnic, socioeconomic or any other defined group.

Community health nurses, also known as public health nurses, work to improve the health of a population and reduce disease and disability. This holistic approach to healthcare draws on knowledge of nursing, social sciences, and public health.

A community health assessment (sometimes called a CHA), also known as community health needs assessment (sometimes called a CHNA), refers to a state, tribal, local, or territorial health assessment that identifies key health needs and issues through systematic, comprehensive data collection and analysis.

"Public health must strive to ensure that people with disabilities can fully participate in health promotion programs. While some public health strategies are developed for individuals with disabilities, most strategies have been developed for general audiences. However, public health programs can be adapted for individuals with disabilities."

The beginning of public health nursing is thought to be in mid-1800s in London, England. William Rathbone (1819 -1902) was a Liverpool England philanthropist whose wife became ill. Rathbone hired a nurse to care for her at home until her death. Nurses were assigned specific geographic areas of London and were responsible for the health of the people living in that neighborhood – The name of this concept in England was District Nursing.

The passage of the Affordable Care Act shifted the focus of health care from individual, patient specific, episodic care, towards health management of groups of people with an emphasis on primary and preventive care. Population health management assists to attain and maintain health while improving quality and lowering costs.

The role of the public health nurse — and the ways they work to maintain healthy populations — has continued to evolve. Today, public health nurses “comprise the largest segment of the professional public health workforce."

The American Academy of Nursing recognizes the need for strengthening the U.S. public health workforce and supports efforts to increase the capacity of public health nursing (PHN) to promote and protect the health of communities and populations. PHN has distinguished itself as a nursing specialty by defining its practice as that of “promoting and protecting the health of populations using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences”

General practitioners and district nurses have a long history of providing care outside the hospital setting. With health care increasingly moving out of the hospital setting, there are more opportunities for general practitioners and district nurses to work together to meet the health needs of the local population.

In a study of 190 community health nurses caring for blacks, Puerto Ricans and Southeast Asians, the confidence scores for cultural self-efficacy was high when nurses cared for blacks and they were low when they cared for Asians and Latinos. The lowest scores belonged to items related to knowledge of health beliefs and practices regarding respect, authority and modesty within each culture.

Since the inception of the profession, nurses have been instrumental in shaping family and community health. Clear evidence of their influence is abundant in nursing's history, particularly in the realm of public health and community health nursing-first labeled "district nursing."

Public health interventions are population-based if they consider all levels of practice. The three inner rings of the model represent this concept. The inner rings of the model are systems-focused, community-focused, and individual/family-focused.

The goal of these programs is to increase the quality, availability, and effectiveness of educational and community-based programs designed to prevent disease and injury, improve health, and enhance quality of life.

The public health worker’s goal in community-focused care is to enhance healthcare services and patient outcomes in targeted populations. By applying public health theory on a local, personalized level, community health providers can cater services to a specific demographic and bring a sense of wellness to communities that would otherwise lack proper access to care.

Preventable noncommunicable diseases, mostly cardiovascular diseases, are responsible for 38 million deaths annually. A few well-documented interventions have the potential to prevent many of these deaths, but a large proportion of the population in need does not have access to these interventions.

APHA champions the health of all people and all communities. They strengthen the public health profession, speak out for public health issues and policies backed by science.

APHN works to protect and promote the health and safety of the public by fostering high public health nursing practice standards, promoting and providing educational opportunities, and advancing the public health nursing role.

PiH's mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. By establishing long-term relationships with sister organizations based in settings of poverty, they strive to achieve two overarching goals: to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them and to serve as an antidote to despair. They draw on the resources of the world’s leading medical and academic institutions and on the lived experience of the world’s poorest and sickest communities. At PIH, nurses and midwives comprise 50 percent of the clinical workforce and are integral to delivering comprehensive, patient-centered care. The nurse educators and mentors provide teaching and hands-on instruction, encouraging capacity-building and knowledge transfer by creating a support system for fellow nurses as they expand their skills and knowledge, establishing systems that ultimately improve patient care.

The Public Health Foundation (PHF), a private, non-profit, organization based in Washington, DC, improves public health and population health practice to support healthier communities. Since 1970, PHF has developed effective resources, tools, information, and training for health agencies, organizations, and individuals to help improve performance and community health outcomes.

The Public Health National Center for Innovations (PHNCI) serves as the national headquarters for empowering health departments to drive change and improve health. PHNCI provides a learning lab for health departments’ innovations; develops and shares resources, tools, education, and expertise; connects innovators within public health and across sectors; and monitors, disseminates, and builds the science of public health innovation.

VNAA is the catalyst to ensure the advancement of home-based care as the preferred solution to high-value, high-quality care. They are the leading voice for the nonprofit, home-based care industry. VNAA is a national industry association that supports, promotes and advocates for community-based, not-for-profit home-based care providers who care for all individuals regardless of the complexity of condition or ability to pay.

One part light-hearted and fun, one part deep and thought-provoking. A podcast hosted by a registered nurse who uses true crime and hot-topic stories to educate and encourage nurses.

A podcast that discusses the top medical stories and is hosted by Johns Hopkins University.

Join oncology nurses as they sit down to discuss the topics important to nursing practice and treating patients with cancer.

The Real Talk School of Nursing Podcast was started in February 2016, by Ben & Greg, two nursing students who worked as Emergency Department Techs. Both have graduated and handed the keys to Michael Smith MSN RN in November 2018. The podcast doesn't talk about content very much. There's more to nursing school than just content. What makes nursing school hard is all the "stuff" that surrounds it. So let's talk about. Let's share our experiences.

Get useful tips, clinical wisdom, nursing inspiration and exploration of key topics from Straight A Nursing. Join Nurse Mo to learn about a wide range of topics ranging from the basics of nursing care to complicated cases seen in the ICU.

This page will connect you to the services at each campus as well as some that are provided by local agencies. If you can't find the information you need here, please reach out to a counselor on your campus.

Program overview for Health Science workforce programs offered at Lone Star College.

A service organization at LSC-Montgomery, open to nursing students or other interested parties, geared to promoting health and wellness awareness to our community.

A collection of resources to support LSC students.

BSN Program Overview