Disaster Planning for Public Health Essay

Disaster Planning for Public Health Essay

Nurs 4211 Week 5 Assignment: Disaster Planning for Public Health Essay

By Day 7 of Week 5

Select a potential natural or man-made disaster that could happen in your community. Then, write a 3- to 4-page paper about the disaster from the community nurse’s perspective.

Section 1: The Disaster, Man-Made or Natural

What disasters may strike your community and why? For example, do you live in “Tornado Alley,” or has climate change resulted in unusual cold weather snaps or blizzards in your community? Are you located in a flood plain? Include possible diseases that may result from a natural disaster, such as tetanus or cholera.

Section 2: The Nursing Response

Formulate responses to the disaster, considering systems and community levels of intervention.
Review websites where a disaster plan may be available for the public, or if one is not currently available, call public health department to see if a disaster plan exists for your community and what the plan contains.

In addition to reviewing websites for information about your local disaster plan, you will need to locate best practice/evidence-based practice guidelines in professional literature to determine whether your community’s disaster plan is as sound as it might be or if there is room for improvement.

Section 3: Is My Community Prepared for a Disaster?

What conclusions can you draw about your community’s preparedness plan from having completed this evaluation?

For this Assignment, review the following:

AWE Checklist (Level 4000)
BSN Program Top Ten Citations and References
Walden paper template (no abstract or running head required)
The Week 5 Assignment Rubric

NURS-4211 Role of the Nurse Leader

Week 6 Assignment

Your Assignment is a PowerPoint presentation that summarizes your Population-Based Nursing Care Plan Project. Include a minimum of 7 slides (15 maximum) and the information as presented in the weekly Practicum Discussions

NURS 4211 – Role of the Nurse Leader in Population Health Essay.

The focus of this course is on application of theories and concepts from nursing and public health sciences in assessing health status; preventing and controlling disease; and promoting a healthier population by working with families, aggregates, communities, and healthcare systems. Students apply systems thinking by using epidemiological and community assessment techniques to examine populations at risk, health promotion, and levels of prevention with special emphasis on ethnically diverse and vulnerable populations. Major local, state, and national health issues are considered including communicable disease, chronic illness, environmental and occupational health, bioterrorism, emergency and disaster preparedness, and response. Practice experiences provide learning experiences in population-based health promotion by collaborating with interdisciplinary public health partners in a local community.

Since the early 1900s, community health nurses have been working to improve population health in the United States, managing and providing care across entire groups, identifying and examining the impact of diseases on societies, and promoting wellness across a broad range of settings.

Community health nurses, sometimes called public health nurses, are registered nurses (RNs) who are trained to work in public health settings such as county or state health departments, schools, jails, and businesses. Because of their roles in the community as caregivers, they often form close bonds within the communities they serve and form lasting relationships. They become area experts on health and wellness.

On any given day, community nurses can be found running wellness clinics, coordinating emergency preparedness for disaster relief, or treating injuries and illnesses.

Community nursing integrates evidence-based research with community health needs to provide care based on science and evidence. They must determine the cultural and socioeconomic needs of the community and adjust care as needed. In this role, RNs may be required to have a baccalaureate nursing education with studies in population-based health and community health nursing. RN to BSN programs allow nurses to study the theory and research behind public health practices and apply them to everyday practice.

“They are educated to see each person for whom they care in the context of his or her life—all the factors that impact that person’s life and well-being,” the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest healthcare philanthropic organization, said in a call to action for improved public health. “Indeed, nurses have a responsibility and an obligation—by virtue of their education—to promote population health no matter where and how they practice.”

Community Health Nurses’ Roles

Working as a community nurse is unlike any other nursing position. By helping whole communities, community nurses act as educators, disease and injury prevention specialists, research scientists, community advocates, emergency preparedness experts, public health liaison, and healthcare professionals. In more detail, the roles of public health nurses are:

1. Disease prevention specialist

Community health nurses focus on long- and short-term care for disease prevention. Their work includes averting or controlling the spread of the flu and other communicable diseases. They work with patients to support diabetes self-management and improve diabetes control.  NURS 4211 – Role of the Nurse Leader in Population Health Essay.They also work with mothers of newborns to reduce the rate of infant mortality and in schools to identify gaps in services.

2. Community educator

As educators, community health nurses focus on presenting materials in a clear and understandable format. They provide information to individuals, families, and communities that create a framework for healthy living and healthy choices. In schools they may teach sex education and HIV education classes. In the public, they hold classes and seminars on diabetes management. Overall, they focus on community health education as a step to preventive healthcare.

3. Leader

Community health nurses use evidence to implement policy changes and quality-based practices. They lead collaborative efforts to produce successful health outcomes and provide critical medical and social services in communities.

4. Researcher

As researchers, community health nurses collect and use evidence to execute positive changes for better health. Research is used to validate funding for public health programs, reduce inequalities in healthcare, and increase access to services.

5. Advocate

Public health nurses advocate on the local, state, and federal level to provide better access to healthcare, protect funding for public health programs, and reduce or eliminate health disparities. They help families arrange assistance through social services programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides healthcare and nutritional services for low-income pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children under age 5.

6. Caregiver

Community nurses cross cultural, language, and literacy boundaries to shape the health and well-being of children and adults. They provide prenatal care and education for expectant mothers, including information about maternal nutrition, referrals for childbirth classes, and postpartum assistance. They also provide resources for parents to understand proper childhood development and discipline techniques.

In addition, community nurses play other varied roles, said Virginia Crandall, Senior Community Health Nursing Director for the Florida Department of Health in Hernando County. She said working as a public health nurse provides an opportunity to use skills not used in a hospital setting.

“Whether it is Ebola, Zika, budget challenges, hurricanes, clinic operations, dog bites, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases or HIV, there is always a new challenge and a new opportunity to make a positive difference,” she said.