Nurse Home Visiting Programs
Nurse home visiting programs are used by public health nurses who work with families in communities. The nurses make visits to assess the needs, health status, and the environments in which the families are living in order to make the appropriate interventions and provide the available resources (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Hanson, 2015). The nurses assess the environmental status, such as paint conditions, aged houses, and dangerous equipment in playgrounds that pose safety hazards. The families benefit from the visits by getting recommendations such as the installation of fire extinguishers and smoke detectors in the houses. The nurses also get a chance to inventory the items in the families and assess if they meet the basic needs such as refrigeration, heating, and food (Nies & McEwen, 2011). They also inventory objects that promote emotional, social, and physical development, such as books and toys. Families also receive an assessment of their health literacy levels. As such, the nurses tailor interventions for self-advocacy. The nurse home visiting programs have helped in reducing the injustices among families. For instance, child neglect and abuse have been prevented to a large extent.
Community Nursing Centers
Community nursing centers are set in both urban and rural communities. They offer a wide array of health care services in one setting. Community nursing centers empower individuals to achieve their individual health goals. The services offered in the community nursing centers are not easily available in many community settings. As such, they offer nursing services to the underserved populations. The people in the communities benefit from these centers because of the affordability and accessibility (Kaakinen et al., 2015). The community also benefits from the provision of social justice administered through the provision of quality, comprehensive, and non-judgmental services in their marginalized settings. Nursing students also acquire health education from the experience gained as they practice and apply the theories learned. The centers provide prevention as the key to improving community health.
Public Health Departments
Public health departments are the most common models for offering health services to families. They are governed by the state and county health departments in order to serve the needs of different clients across home and center-based models. The target groups are the most vulnerable groups in the community such as children, pregnant women, patients with infectious diseases and those suffering from chronic illnesses (Edelstein, 2011). For instance, the older adults are served by the public health departments to manage chronic pains. The departments have pain assessment tools that help families in pain management. The departments also help in curbing any signs of abuse of the elderly. The nurses from these departments are always alert to isolate cases of physical, sexual, verbal, financial, and psychological abuse to the elderly members of the community. Other programs from the public health department include educating the older adults on the implementation of healthy dieting, high cholesterol levels in the blood, and hygienic practices.
Home and Community Education
Education is important in the promotion of health as well as disease protection in families. Community health nurses use the information gathered from the families in the communities to advocate for healthy practices and identifying the risk areas (Nies & McEwen, 2011). As the nurses educate the community and family members about modifying their lifestyles for better health, it is important for them to consider the policies that could affect the lifestyle of the families and the individuals. Families benefit from the education programs since they get to understand issues such as immunization, drugs and alcohol, exercises, rest, and use of safety belts. They also get recommendations and referrals to resources and programs that assist in lifestyle modification such as exercise programs and classes for smoking cessation.Three Ways in Which a Family Health Nurse May be Useful in CommunityResources
There are different ways in which family health nurses help in the administration of community resources. First, they are the main facilitators of health care knowledge, such as immunization schedules, nutrition, exercises, family planning, and parental care. Second, they are responsible for reforming the health care system of all communities. Through public education and advocacy programs, the nurses are the best campaigners for change from the grassroots to the state levels (Kulbok, Thatcher, Park, & Meszaros, 2012). Finally, the family health nurses are useful in helping the patients suffering from chronic illnesses use the different equipment for improving their health conditions. For instance, the nurses help administer insulin to diabetes patients. As such, the roles of the nurses in the administration of community resources are required by all community settings.
References
Edelstein, J. A. (2011). A Clinical Nurse's Perspective of Public and Community Health. American Journal of Public Health, 101(10), 1813-1814. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222339/
Kaakinen, J. R., Coehlo, D. P., Steele, R., Tabacco, A., & Hanson, S. M. H. (2015). Family Health Care Nursing: Theory, Practice, and Research (5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis Company.
Kulbok, P. A., Thatcher, E., Park, E., & Meszaros, P. (2012). Evolving Public Health Nursing Roles: Focus on Community Participatory Health Promotion and Prevention. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 17(2). Retrieved from http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-17-2012/No2-May-2012/Evolving-Public-Health-Nursing-Roles.html
Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2011). Community/Public Health Nursing: Promoting the Health of Populations (5th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier.
