In a rural, Hispanic community, a health department well child clinic nurse identified a child with an elevated blood lead level. A public health nurse made a home visit to assess the home environment.
Review the following case study scenario that explores the roles and responsibilities of a public health nurse providing care for vulnerable populations:
In a rural, Hispanic community, a health department well child clinic nurse identified a child with an elevated blood lead level. A public health nurse made a home visit to assess the home environment. She discovered the child’s father worked at a job where he was exposed to lead. The father wore his work clothes home every day and his wife washed them with the family laundry. The nurse collected blood samples from the other children in the home. In addition, she gathered dust samples with a small, handheld vacuum. The children had never seen a vacuum cleaner before. They always used a broom and dust rags to clean.
Next, the public health nurse visited the father’s worksite, where she took blood samples from other workers and identified 23 others with elevated blood lead levels. She worked with the reluctant, sometimes hostile, employer to develop worksite policies to protect the workers from exposure and to prevent the lead dust from being transported to the workers’ homes.
The nurse then visited the 23 families and interviewed each about their laundry and cleaning practices. She drew blood samples from family members and collected dust samples from their homes. Many of the children had elevated blood lead levels. The nurse had great difficulty convincing the reluctant families to travel many miles to see a doctor for what appeared to them to be an insignificant illness. The nurse revisited the worksite to assist with implementation of the new policies, ensure compliance and assure medical follow-up for the workers and their families.
For this Assignment, you will explore the roles and responsibilities of a public health nurse in providing care for vulnerable populations in the community such as migrant farm workers.
To Prepare:
Review this week’s Learning Resources.
Review key concepts of public health nursing practice and interventions in terms of public health’s three core functions and essential services.
Review the case study description provided for this Assignment.
The Assignment:
Write a 1- to 2-page response to the case study presented. In your response, provide an explanation of the roles and responsibilities of the public health nurse in providing care for the population depicted in the case study scenario. Identify actions taken by the nurse which correspond to the three core public health functions you learned about in your readings and explain potential interventions that you might propose at the community, family, and individual levels. Then, explain the role a public health nurse would play in the interventions you identified.
NURS6710 Public Health Nursing Theory and Practice
Week 4 Assignment
Unintended Consequences
There are unintended consequences to almost everything we do. Laws and policies established for the greater good can have unbearable unintended consequences. As we examine public health laws and policies intended to protect the public, it is important to look downstream to anticipate these unintended consequences.
In 1990, the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, which provides states with funds for AIDS treatment and care, required every state to certify that its criminal laws were adequate to prosecute any HIV-infected individual who knowingly exposed another person to HIV. At least 35 states have criminal laws that punish HIV-positive people for exposing others to the virus, even if they take precautions such as using a condom. Supporters of these laws say they deter people from spreading the virus and set a standard for disclosure and precautions in an ongoing epidemic. But critics say they thwart public health goals because they stigmatize the disease; undermine trust in health officials, who are sometimes enlisted to assist with criminal prosecutions; and fail to take into account the latest science surrounding HIV transmission. In addition, these laws can also prevent individuals from being tested for HIV—if a person doesn’t know their HIV status then they don’t risk prosecution if they fail to reveal their status to a sexual partner. Yet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 92 percent of new HIV infections occur from people who do not know their HIV status. Therefore, public health laws designed to protect have the potential to also do harm. This is an important advocacy role for public health nurses as they strive to uphold the ethical principles governing public health.
To Prepare:Review this week’s Learning Resources.
Consider the example of unintended consequences and the impact on the public’s health.
Note: For this Assignment, you will use the topic of interest you chose for your Discussion in Week 1. If the topic does not align with the expectations of this Assignment, please consult with your Instructor to identify another issue.
The Assignment:
Write a 2- to 3-page paper that addresses the following:
Explain the potential unintended consequences of interventions used to address the public health issue you selected in Week 1.
Explain the role of the public health nurse in advocating for this population.
NURS6710 Public Health Nursing Theory and Practice
Week 5 Assignment
Applying Public Health Theories and Models Paper
The application of a theory and/or model to address population-based health problems is a skill developed through continual practice. For this Assignment, you will gain familiarity with the process of asking questions and taking the first steps to applying a theory/model to an identified issue. In practice, you would not be doing this alone but as part of a team. However, going through the process in the context of this Assignment will assist in gaining familiarity and confidence with the general process.
To Prepare:
Based on the public health issue you identified in Week 1, think about how you might apply one of the theories/models from this week’s Learning Resources to develop interventions for the public health issue.
The Assignment:
Write a 2- to 3-page paper that includes following:
Identify a public health theory or model that you think is the most appropriate model to apply to the public health issue you selected in Week 1.
Justify why this public health theory or model is the most appropriate choice for this public health issue.
Explain how you might apply the public health theory or model to the public health issue you selected.
Explain what you learned about the public health issue you selected by applying the selected public health theory or model to the issue.
NURS6710 Public Health Nursing Theory and Practice
Week 7 Assignment
Social Determinants of Health Reflective Paper
Inconsistencies in health outcomes are readily identifiable across populations. Once data is used to confirm disparities, what actions can a public health nurse, partnering with a given community, take? If information were enough, many long-standing health issues would be resolved. Consider what you have learned so far about public health and specifically the role of the public health nurse as you deepen your knowledge on the breadth of issues with which public health professionals engage.
For this Assignment, you will analyze two media pieces providing additional perspectives on the social determinants of health.
To Prepare:
Review the media for this week.
Reflect on the role of the public health nurse in the situations presented.
The Assignment:
After viewing the “Place Matters” and “Not Just a Paycheck” videos, complete a 2- to 3-page reflective essay in which you address the questions below, while integrating your personal reactions/responses to the media content:
In “Not Just a Paycheck,” two communities experiencing job loss after the closing of local manufacturing plants are discussed: Greenville, Michigan; and Vastervik, Sweden. Explain why you think the health outcomes of the citizens in Greenville and Vastervik are so different.
Based on the video, “Place Matters,” explain why zip code and street address are good predictors of population health?
What is the overarching theme illustrated by these two videos?
NURS6710 Public Health Nursing Theory and Practice
Week 8 Assignment
Reflection Paper
“Culturally aware nurses are conscious of culture as an influencing factor on differences between themselves and others and are receptive to learning about the cultural dimensions of clients.” (Stanhope & Lancaster, p. 147). For this Assignment, you will analyze effective ways to work with culturally diverse populations in your practice settings.
To Prepare:
Review this week’s Learning Resources.
Reflect on this week’s media.
Think about some of the diverse populations that you might encounter in your nursing practice.
The Assignment:
Write a 1- to 2-page paper that includes the following:
Identify and describe a diverse population that you might encounter in your nursing practice.
Identify and describe potential community resources that might be available in helping provide public health services to this population.
Explain at least two strategies you might use in providing culturally competent care to the population you selected.
NURS6710 Public Health Nursing Theory and Practice
Week 10 Assignment
Health Promotion Programs
Health promotion programs provide a conduit for public health nurses and the individuals, communities, and populations they collaborate with to achieve the ultimate goal of health and well-being, as defined in partnership, for all.
For this Assignment, you will analyze a selected health indicator through the lens of health promotion programs and a public heath theory, model, or framework.
To Prepare:
Review this week’s Learning Resources.
Research health promotion programs in your state or area tied to the health indicator rankings selected in Week 9.
The Assignment:
Write a 2- to-3-page paper that addresses the following:
Identify and provide a brief description of at least two health promotion programs that address the health indicator you selected.
Explain the benefits and challenges of identified health promotion programs in addressing the health indicator selected.
Identify a public health theory, model, or framework that may apply to the public health issue you selected.
Identify relevant core concepts and assumptions of the theory, model, or framework and how they relate to the public health issue you selected.
Justify why this public health theory, model, or framework is the most appropriate choice for this public health issue.
Explain how you might apply the public health theory, model, or framework to the public health issue you selected.
Explain what additional insight you gained regarding the public health issue as you viewed it through the lens of the theory, model, or framework you selected.
NURS6710 Public Health Nursing Theory and Practice
Week 11 Assignment
Reflection Paper
Presented with a specific health issue, a nurse whose role focuses on delivery of care to individuals and a public health nurse whose role focuses on population health would likely respond with a different set of questions, and engage in a different set of actions, although, with some overlap. At this point in the course, how would you define the distinguishing characteristics and skills of a public health nurse? For this Assignment, you will reflect on your evolving knowledge in the specialty practice area of public health nursing in general and in the context of a specific health indicator.
To Prepare:
Review this week’s Learning Resources.
Reflect on the content of the course as it relates to your understanding of the role of the public health nurse.
The Assignment:
Write a 1-page paper that addresses the following questions:
After engaging with the content of the course, how has your vision of your role as a public health nurse changed based on your initial reflection for the health issue described in Week 1? What additional skills or expertise can you now identify that you bring to the table in asserting your role as a public health nurse?
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