Sources of information
Community health organizations, disease reporting and resources manual for communicable diseases, the internet, government organizations such as the centers for disease prevention and control, and public health reports provide the sources of information on communicable diseases. The World Health Organization is also another major source and authority where the latest data on communicable diseases are specified.
Reporting
Responsible health officers are responsible for reporting the latest information on communicable diseases to the local authority or jurisdiction. The reporting system follows specific regulations and at different levels. The first stage entails collecting the basic information from the grass root or local levels within the community where the communicable diseases happen. The second level entails assembling the data that had been collected at the community level. The assembling is done at the state, district, or the local level. At the third stage, the information is aggregated to fit different auspices. Finally, the last stage entails prescribing the communicable diseases and report writing. The report is prepared by the national health authority for later presentation to the World Health Organizations (Dye, 2013).
Varicella
The Center for Disease Control specifies Varicella (chicken pox) a nationally notifiable disease. It causes a high rate of morbidity. As such, the government requires any case of Varicella to be reported to the relevant authorities immediately. Notification to authorities will assist to provide prior warnings as well as facilitate the monitoring and prevention strategies (Dye, 2013).
Relationships to communicable diseases
Varicella is highly contagious because the varicella virus spreads easily from one person to the other through close contact. Sneezing, sharing drinks and food, or even coughs are enough to transmit the virus. Worst still, an infected person is capable of spreading the virus.
Role of community health nursing in preventing communicable diseases
Community health nursing helps in proving comprehensive health programs according to specific health standards on communicable diseases. Such health programs are designed to provide surveillance and treatment for identified communicable diseases in addition to promoting healthy living among the members of the community.
Community health nursing helps on protecting and preventing communicable diseases from affecting the community. It lays all focus and energy on the local community to detect any spread or cause. To ensure effectiveness and achieve prevention goals, community health nursing constantly update its information on communicable diseases. For instance, the nurses are required to be familiar with the causative organisms, the length of incubation, transmission modes, protective symptoms, and all the necessary information on communicable diseases (Shigayeva, Atun, McKee, & Coker, 2010). Their knowledge on this information enables community health organizations to provide care and prevent the transmission.
Community health nursing provides the raw data that will enable the national authority to categories the communicable diseases into various groups. It also helps in improving the health outcomes across the community. Another important role of community nursing is the significant role of serving health care strategies to the community. Dealing and identifying the challenges faced when dealing with communicable diseases are absorbed at the community level. As such, they discover new strategies of dealing with such challenges provide vital information to health authorities (Shigayeva, Atun, McKee, & Coker, 2010). Finally, community health nursing assists in promoting and advocating for the adoption of certain living standards through teaching. These promotions are undertaken in regions where communicable health diseases are prevalent and necessary care is needed.
Reference List
Shigayeva, A., Atun, R., McKee, M., & Coker, R. (2010). Health systems, communicable diseases and integration. Health Policy & Planning, 25(suppl_1), i4-i20.
Dye, C., et al (2013). WHO and the future of disease control programmes. Lancet, 381(9864), 413-418
