The state of well-being because of the harmonious interaction of the body, mind, and spirit is one of the most important aspects of our daily life. Health is a major factor governing how human beings conduct their social and economic activities. An individual’s health status is closely related to his or her economic wellbeing and therefore, access to health facilities and services is of tremendous importance. Community health professionals utilize the persuasive, team, and community involvement approaches to accomplish community health goals. These professionals play the practitioner role that includes providing care and teaching, the leadership role, and the research role. The central idea of community-oriented nursing practice is to promote wellness, reduce the spread of illness, and improve the health status of groups of citizens or the community at large (Brunner et al., 2009). Public health nurses work in the neighborhoods and the homes of people who are at risk of diseases, poor recovery, and injury. These include the aging, children, and adults with chronic illness and disabilities, impoverished women and children, homeless persons, and those with substance abuse problems (Hitchcock et al., 2003).
Migrant farmworkers face linguistic, cultural, financial, and other barriers that make it difficult for them to obtain the necessary health care services. In addition, they are at a higher risk of complex health problems than the general population because of their exposure to unfavorable working conditions. Workers involved in the primary level of production are often exposed to the danger of injuries or diseases resulting from their exposure to carcinogenic substances and various environmental pollutants. Education on the prevention or minimizing the workers’ exposure to these factors can appreciably lower the rate of occurrence of preventable terminal illnesses and mortality.
The adoption of community health nursing practice would be effective in reaching the isolated and transient groups’ health needs. For example, the community health professionals may embark on an awareness campaign among the migrant workers through the provision of health education. Moreover, individuals from the migrant worker’s community can practice community nursing once they have been trained by the community health professionals. These trainees would help in educating the other members of the community about avoidable and controllable illnesses, and when necessary attend to medical emergencies. Education on behavior change will help in the control and prevention of sexually communicable diseases that spread because of social irresponsibility.
Community nurses can be more enlightened and organized if they partner with non-profitable organizations. Such a partnership will help in improving the already existing education and work program. An organization with nurses who are equipped with better training and knowledge will positively transform a community through the nurse-trainees who are often members of the community in focus. Lifestyle changes can be induced by educating the community on the role that lifestyle plays in the development of health disorders such as hypertension and high blood sugar.
Children are considered to be an important part of a community. In a vulnerable group or community, orphaned children, children prone to physical or sexual aggression, and juvenile delinquents are among those that are seriously affected. Teenage pregnancy is another situation that is often associated with mediocre quality of life. Ignorance, peer pressure, and poverty predispose teenagers to teenage pregnancy. Misuse of contraceptives or inconsistent use of preventive measures raises the rate of teenage pregnancy. Previous cases of pregnancy also seem to influence the possibility of a second and subsequent pregnancy. Teenagers who have friends that are already mothers are also susceptible to a similar fate.
Community health nursing could be used to curb the rise in the rates of teenage pregnancies through programs that educate teenagers on how to maintain consistent contraceptive management. In addition, the educational programs should offer information on how to monitor an individual’s health and enlighten teenagers on the social factors which contribute to teenage pregnancy. This approach could significantly help in increasing awareness among teenagers and reducing cases of teenage pregnancy. Educating teenagers on how to manage social and emotional stress will reduce the chances of adverse postpartum outcomes. Community health nurses could also be used to educate teenagers on the management of postpartum stress which would otherwise increase a teenager’s susceptibility to a second pregnancy (Basavanthappa, 2008). Furthermore, creating peer support groups would be helpful in preparing teenagers to cope with the demands and sacrifices of parenting.
Community nursing is organized in such a way that a non-profitable organization is involved. The nurses involved in community nursing may not be necessarily professional nurses. The service given is mostly free of charge considering the social and economic situation of the parties involved. Therefore, nursing conclusively needs patience and dedication. To care for populations, nurses need to place an individual, family, and the population within the context of the community and the myriad environmental, social, economic, political, ethnic, and other factors that influence health (Londrigan et al., 2011). In the discussed cases, there is a similar structure where community health nurses are based in different stations in a fairly and evenly distributed manner.
References
Basavanthappa, B. (2008). Community Health Nursing. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers Ltd.
Brunner, L. S., Suddarth, D. S., & Smeltzer, S. C. (2008). Brunner & Suddarth’s textbook of medical surgical nursing (11th ed.).Philadelphia:Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Hitchcock, J. E., Schubert, P. E., & Thomas, S. A. (2003). Community health nursing: caring in action (2nd ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Thomson/Delmar Learning.
Londrigan, M., & Lewenson, S. (2011). Public health nursing: practicing population-based care. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.