Community health nursing is a critical area of nursing as it focuses on the community as the client thus giving the nurse a chance to determine the impacts of the prevailing socioeconomic and sociocultural aspects on the health status of the individuals in that community. Ultimately, the community health nurse has to devise ways and methods to improve the apparent health status by offering tailored solutions to the target community. The role of the faith-based nurse or the parish nurse is founded on the concepts of holistic care which posit that the care planning aspects must take into consideration the emotional, spiritual, physical and social wellness and health of the individual (Nies & McEwen, 2015). Therefore, as a parish nurse has focus on integrating the spirituality and religious beliefs of the patient and their family into the care plan while seeking those interventions that are acceptable within those beliefs but equally effective in the management of the patient’s conditions.
Within the role of the parish nurse, the chosen topic area is that of “DH-17: Increase the proportion of adults with disabilities who report sufficient social and emotional support” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). The role of the parish nurse is to seek the emotional and spiritual support mechanisms that can help the individual recover their functionality or remain hopeful even in the midst of illnesses or conditions. Nursing seeks not only to facilitate curative objectives but to enable self-care and self-management techniques for adults with disabilities, life-threatening and chronic illnesses. In such times, most adults may make a decision to eliminate their social circle and therefore pursue a lonely life that at times can lead them to suicidal thoughts or feelings of neglect and ultimately losing their self-care abilities. The community health nurse has a role of ensuring that based on the disabilities that these people may have, they do not feel entirely different or incapable of pursuing a quality life (Nies & McEwen, 2015). The focus on spirituality can help them recognize that there is hope and that they have a crucial role to take care of themselves as well as owing others around them critical responsibilities no matter how small those roles may be. The community health nurse has to enable them seek social partnerships and networks with people with similar or related challenges and allow them to interact and educate one another on the coping mechanisms that they have devised over the course of their lives. Such social circles enable these individuals to refocus more on their role to this social circle and themselves and therefore eliminating the stress and depression that comes with pursuing a lonely life.
References
Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2015). Community/Public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders/Elsevier.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2016). Healthy People 2020: Topics & Objectives. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020
