Public health nursing is the process of protecting and promoting individuals’ health through nursing
Valerie
Nurses that work in the community are exposed to a diverse population of individuals. Being aware of the different cultures you are serving in the community can be very beneficial when providing care. According to the health policy institute of Georgetown University, cultural competence is defined as “the ability of providers and organizations to effectively deliver health care services that meet the social, cultural, and linguistic needs of patients.” When the nurse caring for a patient with a different background does not fully understand the patient’s cultural difference, this can cause a disconnect in between the communication being delivered from the nurse as well as the way the patient is interpreting it. Individuals can educate themselves about other cultures, but to get a better perspective, it is best to experience it firsthand to get better knowledge. Due to how diverse this world is becoming; it is easy to get exposed to foods and cultural events that may be happening around the community.
With cultural preservation, nurses want to incorporate the cultural beliefs of the patient they are taking care of. When you assess the patient’s beliefs and cultural background, you can further understand how and what type of care you should be delivering to this patient. An example could be daily prayer. In some cultures, it is known that individuals must pray at a certain time of day or multiple times throughout the day. As the nurse caring for this patient, when implementing a care plan, setting times aside where the patient is not interrupted so they are able practice their beliefs is a great way for the nurse to enforce cultural preservation.
The nurse can support cultural accommodation by simply allowing patients to facilitate their cultural practices if no self-harm is being inflicted. An example to cultural accommodation could be a catholic patient wanting to wear their rosery throughout the hospital stay.
As nurses we are advocates for our patients, culture brokering is also known as advocating, along with negotiating or intervening when it is needed. An example of this could be a Jehovah’s witness refusing a blood transfusion due to cultural beliefs, and a doctor mandating that the patient receives the blood transfusion. As a nurse, it is not only our duty to advocate but also our job to educate the patient. Even though the patient is expressing their personal cultural beliefs. The nurse should help the physician and the patient come to an understanding and explore alternative options that may be performed.
A lot of cultures tend to believe in the use of different herbs & spices to help with health and healing. Oftentimes these remedies can contraindicate medications that the patient is prescribed. With culture repatterning, the nurse duties are to help the patient still maintain their cultural integrity but, in a matter, where life threatening events can be modified. When a nurse is assessing a new patient, medication reconciliation is an important aspect of obtaining information. The nurse should explain to the patient, the importance of reporting what herbs or spices they may be taking due to the risks that may contraindicate prescribed medications.
A barrier that can affect the communication amongst the patient and the healthcare team is language. If a nurse is providing patient education and the patient does not speak the same language as the nurse and there is not a different form of communication available this can cause a disconnect between the nurse and the patient. Luckily, many businesses and corporations have included language lines which breaks down the barrier of being unable to communicate due to language.
Cultural Competence in Health Care: Is it important for people with chronic conditions? Health Policy Institute. (2019, February 13). https://hpi.georgetown.
Stanhope, M. L. (n.d). Public Health Nursing Population Centered Health Care in the Community (10th ed.). Elsevier.
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Proscovia
Public health nursing is the process of protecting and promoting individuals’ health through nursing, health care, and social knowledge. Public health nursing systematically assesses individuals’ health care and health needs to distinguish families, subpopulations, and beneficiaries of health promotion from risks like injury, disability, premature death, and illness (Stanhope et al. 2016). The community develops public health nursing to solve various societal needs, taking into account the existing resources to prevent illness and maintain people’s well-being. Public health nursing requires professionalism in dealing with people’s health and nursing science that focuses on outcome levels of the population. It also comprises various health care services, care plans, community programs, and support systems for populations.
Three core functions of the public health nursing
The core function of public health nursing involves essential elements that keep public health nursing going. This function includes assessment, assurance, and policy development. Assessment involves various processes involved in monitoring individuals’ health status in view of identifying community health profiles, problems, and vital statistical computation of health levels of communities. Besides, the assessment also involves all diagnosis and investigation activities and investigation of health problems and dangers of pandemics involving multiple communities (Stanhope et al. 2016).
Policy development is a public health nursing procedure that informs, empowers, and educates populations about vital health issues such as social marketing and health promotions. Policy development mobilizes masses through partnership practices that identify and solves health problems through information conveying and community education. Policy development also designs plans and policies for individual and community support through health system planning and leadership development (Stanhope et al. 2019).
On the other hand, assurance enforces regulations and laws protection population health by enforcing sanitary codes and maintaining environmental safety. The process is also involved in linking individuals to their health requirements to ensure the urgent provision of health care services when unavailable, thus increasing access to health. It assures the public through education and training hence enabling competent health care services. Assurance ensures research for new and innovative health problem solutions by linking academic institutions and health facilities.
Explain how population-focused nursing practice is different from clinical nursing care delivered in the community
Public health nursing, also called Community health nursing, involves both nursing practices and primary healthcare services in the community. The main aim of delivering clinical and nursing care services to local communities is to ensure disease prevention, provide health services, develop interventions, and enlighten communities concerning their well-being. Besides, public health nurses have a broad understanding of factors influencing health promotion trends and sickness patterns within a huge population. Population-focused nursing revolves around building a nursing culture and thinking of health care in all sectors through the process of addressing and identifying disparities, focusing not only on health as well as analyzing health outcomes by including a variety of social, economic, and legal determinants of health. While community health nursing is based on maintaining community well-being, population-focused nursing emphasizes integrated health promotion and disease prevention among populations (Randolph et al. 2016). Population-focused nursing gives care to all individuals in the care system and those who are not present. Besides, community health nursing requires organized community efforts in fighting infectious diseases and ensure sanitation which is not necessary with population-based nursing practices.
References
Randolph, S., Evans, C., & Bacon, C. T. (2016). Preparing BSN students for population-focused nursing care. Nursing education perspectives, 37(2), 115-117.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2019). Public health nursing e-book: Population-centered health care in the community. Elsevier Health Sciences
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