Public health nursing is one of the most demanding professions in healthcare. It gives nurses opportunities to make vital changes by improving the health of the entire community rather than an individual. Public health nurses hold a vital role in promoting community health and safety and in the prevention of illnesses. If you are looking to pursue a career in public health, continue reading this blog to learn what it entails and its roles.

Community health nursing vs. public health nursing

Public health nursing is a practice that promotes and protects population health using knowledge from public health, social sciences, and nursing. Nurses use the knowledge to review health data and make conclusions about health trends. They also educate the public on hygiene, exercise, and preventative nutritious tips to maintain health.

Community health nursing focus on boosting the health status of the community, groups, families, and individuals through a direct approach. Nurses provide medical services to populations that need them. They review data to identify individuals that need the most help in using healthcare resources and ensure that they receive care.

Community and public health nurses work closely in educating the public and promoting health but differ in the work environment and job focus.

• Work environment

Public health nurses work for the federal government while community nurses work for local or state government. However, they both divide their time between hospitals, medical laboratories, and other facilities.

• Job focus

Public health nurses review scientific studies, historical records, and population data to establish how to promote health and prevent illness and injuries across populations. Community health nurses focus on community members’ resources that promote health and well-being.

Importance of public health nursing

Public health nursing equips students with skills, knowledge, and understanding of conducting public health work. The following are the top reasons why public health is important;

1. Public health helps in prolonging life through the prevention of health problems.
2. It enhances the prevention of illness which is more effective and less costly than cure.
3. Public health promotes and maintains health from the biggest killers of diseases like cancer, diabetes, dementia, heart disease, etc.
4. It helps in detecting illnesses early and responding appropriately to them to prevent the development of diseases.
5. Public health creates awareness of health hazards through influencing government policies, campaigns, and educational programs.
6. It provides diverse health services to the entire population rather than on an individual level
7. It helps nurses to build new skills through day-to-day activities and participating in campaigns and major projects.
8. It avails health services to individuals in the public regardless of socio-economic background.
9. Public health closes the inequality gap between individuals of all gender, ages, and ethnicity.
10. It encourages nurses to improve people’s health which is a great satisfaction.

Public health nursing: roles and responsibilities

Public health nurses play vital roles from promoting health to navigating epidemics. PHN is dedicated to implementing and researching best practices for nurses. They encourage health education and preventative care to help communities improve their quality of life, reduce diseases, and enable more people to live longer. Below are the roles and responsibilities of public health nurses;

• Evaluating health trends in the Community
• Creating relationships and following up on patients to track progress
• Analyzing and recording medical data
• Monitoring patients to identify changes in their condition
• Evaluating patient’s health and developing treatment plans
• Collaborating with other health officials in availing care to underserved communities
• Collaborating with physicians in providing top-quality care
• Referring a patient to other facilities if required
• Offering education to patients about available services and living a healthy life
• Managing the public health program’s budget
• Creating prevention awareness in communities to avoid injuries or illnesses

Foundation for population health in public health nursing

The 6^th edition of the Foundation for population health in public health nursing offers a concise and clear nurse role in preventing disease, providing health education, and promoting health. Critical thinking activities and case studies make it manageable to apply the concept to public nursing practice.

The newest edition is the Healthy People 2030 guideline of the latest approaches, trends, and issues. It covers the fundamental of designing effective strategies for vulnerable populations. Below are its key features;

• Focus on health promotion through interventions, strategies, and initiatives that enhance community health
• QSEN boxes show how safety and quality goals, skills, knowledge, competencies, and objectives are applied in nursing practice.
• Levels of prevention boxes identify nursing interventions and apply prevention concepts related to public health care.
• Applying content in practice boxes shows how a concept is applied to nursing practice
• Practice application scenarios avail situations to help you apply concepts
• Genomics coverage gives a history of genetics and how they impact public health nursing care
• Coverage of healthcare reform issues
• Evidence-based practice boxes show the latest research findings and their application

History and Evolution of public health nursing

Public health nursing started in England in 1859 when Florence Nightingale assisted in organizing. She trained the nurses and assigned them to specific areas in London where they were responsible for the health of the people in the neighborhood.

In the US, public health nursing emerged in 1877 in New York City which began with a graduate nurse taking care of the sick at their home. Lilian Wald was the leader in the field and she realized that the sickness found at home originated from the larger societal problem. She directed nurses toward sanitation, employment, education, and recreation.

In the early 20^th century, Visiting Nurses’ Associations were formed to provide care for the sick at home. Public health nursing began being practiced in the red cross and government agencies like city health and local county departments. Care then shifted from the home to the clinic where nurses worked in immunization clinics and controlled communicable diseases.

How do ethical principles apply to public health nursing?

The following are ethical principles in public health;

1. Public health priorities, programs, and policies should be evaluated and developed to input processes from community members.
2. Public health should communicate causes for illness and requirements for health to prevent adverse health results
3. Public health should promote work and empower disenfranchised community members to ensure that primary resources necessary for health is accessible to the public.
4. Public health should provide community health in a way that respects individual rights
5. It should look for the required information to effectively implement policies and programs that promote and protect health.
6. Public health facilities should have competent employees
7. Institutions should provide the information needed to decide on policies and should obtain the community’s consent before implementing
8. Public health employees and institutions should collaborate in ways that build public trust.
9. Public health institutions should act timely on the information they have within the mandate given to them by the people.
10. Institutions should keep individual’s information confidential and exceptions must be justified on the likelihood of significant harm to individuals.
11. Programs and policies should be implemented in a way that enhances the social and physical environment.
12. Public health programs should integrate approaches that respect and anticipate diverse cultures, beliefs, and values in the community.

Roles of Epidemiology in public health nursing

Epidemiology is the study of disease in populations. It helps in the promotion, prevention, rehabilitation, and curing of illness in the community. The following are the roles of epidemiology in public health;

• Public health nurses use epidemiological techniques for outbreak investigation, disease surveillance, and observational studies to know the risk factors of zoonotic illness in both animal and human populations.
• Knowledge of the risk factors helps do further research investigation and implement disease control measures.
• Epidemiology practices are used to monitor disease and identify the most essential hazards.
• Epidemiology techniques help in identifying risk factors representing critical control in food production methods.
• Public health nurses use epidemiology knowledge to establish health resources effectively by emphasizing urgent health problems that need attention
• Community health nurses can set procedures for health programs according to immediate health needs
• Epidemiology helps in rehabilitation by assessing the effectiveness of measures for controlling specific disorders and restoring the personal confidence and dignity of people.

What is global public health nursing?

Global public health merges nursing education with public health approaches. The nurses work as part of the international healthcare team. They are responsible for determining diagnoses, conducting assessments, creating health plans, delivering care, and integrating evidence-based practice.

The nurses must understand how health systems operate in different countries to contribute to the implementation of care models. Their role is to educate communities about healthy lifestyles, promote preventative health measures, and conduct research to get techniques for stopping the spread of illness.

Global health nurses should also consider the social determinants of health in a population. Social determinants can increase the rate of diverse patient results and harmful health behavior. They include poverty, unstable housing, unsafe neighborhood, and substandard education which can have negative effects on health.

Bottom line

Public health nursing is a specialty that integrates nursing with public health principles. Public health nurses make vital changes by improving the health of the entire community rather than an individual. You have learned what a career in public health nursing entails. Now it’s time to decide which path you want to take