Public Health Nursing: Definition, Practice, and Role in Health Equity, Study notes of Public Health

Download Public Health Nursing: Definition, Practice, and Role in Health Equity and more Study notes Public Health in PDF only on Docsity! November 11, 2013 THE DEFINITION AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING 2013 Acknowledgments This statement was developed by the Public Health Nursing Definition Document Task Force under the direction of the leadership of the Public Health Nursing Section of the American Public Health Association. The statement was adopted by the Public Health Nursing Section Council at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting on November 5, 2013. The Task Force gratefully acknowledges the valuable assistance of individuals who contributed comments and recommendations throughout the development of this document. Public Health Nursing Definition Document Task Force Betty Bekemeier, Co-chair Tessa Walker Linderman, Co-chair Jo Anne Bennett Martha Bergren Janet Braunstein Moody Marjorie Buchanan Laura Debiasi Joyce Edmonds Alexandra Garcia Shawn Kneipp Kirk Koyama Pam Kulbok Lauren Lawson Kathlynn Northrup-Snyder Sue Stroschein Recommended citation: American Public Health Association, Public Health Nursing Section (2013). The definition and practice of public health nursing: A statement of the public health nursing section. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association. November 11, 2013 THE DEFINITION AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING A Statement of the APHA Public Health Nursing Section 2013 This document updates the 1996 American Public Health Association Public Health Nursing Section definition statement and affirms the original definition.1 This statement addresses some of the evolving economic, health, political, and societal trends that shape the context of public health nursing practice. Definition Public health nursing is the practice of promoting and protecting the health of populations using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences. Public health nursing is a specialty practice within nursing and public health. It focuses on improving population health by emphasizing prevention, and attending to multiple determinants of health. Often used interchangeably with community health nursing, this nursing practice includes advocacy, policy development, and planning, which addresses issues of social justice. With a multi-level view of health, public health nursing action occurs through community applications of theory, evidence, and a commitment to health equity. In addition to what is put forward in this definition, public health nursing practice is guided by the American Nurses Association Public Health Nursing: Scope & Standards of Practice 2 and the Quad Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations’ Core Competencies for Public Health Nurses.3 Elements of Practice Key characteristics of practice include: 1) a focus on the health needs of an entire population, including inequities and the unique needs of sub-populations; 2) assessment of population health using a comprehensive, systematic approach; 3) attention to multiple determinants of health; 4) an emphasis on primary prevention; and 5) application of interventions at all levels—individuals, families, communities, and the systems that impact their health.4 Public Health Nursing Perspective Public health nursing aims to improve the health outcomes of all populations. Applying their clinical knowledge and expertise in health care from an ecological perspective, public health nurses acknowledge the complexity of public health problems and the contextual nature of health—including cultural, environmental, historical, physical, and social factors. Public health nurses apply systems-level thinking5, 6 to assess the potential or actual assets, needs, opportunities, and inequities of individuals, families, and populations and translate this assessment into action for public good. Public Health Nursing Activities and Practice Settings Public health nursing activities comprise the domains depicted by the Public Health Intervention Wheel and the 10 Essential Public Health Services. 7,8 These activities include community collaboration, health teaching, and policy development, in response to priorities derived from ongoing, comprehensive population focused assessment. Public health nurses are members and leaders of interprofessional teams in diverse settings and in many different types of agencies and organizations including all levels of November 11, 2013 5 Leischow, S., Milstein, B. (2006) Systems thinking and modeling for public health practice. AJPH 96(3): 403-404 6 Swider, S., Krothe, J., Reyes, D., Cravetz, M. (2013). The Quad Council practice competencies for public health nursing. Public Health Nursing. doi: 10.1111/phn.12090 7 Public Health Nursing Section (2001). Public health interventions–applications for public health nursing practice. St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Health. 8 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). National public health performance standards program, 10 essential public health services. Retrieved from: cdc.gov/nphpsp/essentialservices.html 9 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2011). Healthy People 2020. Washington, DC. Retrieved from: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/default.aspx. 10 United States Department of Health and Human Services, Healthy People 2020. (2012). Public health infrastructure: Overview. Retrieved from: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=35 11 Marmot, M. (2000). Multilevel approaches to understanding social determinants. In Berkman LF, Kawachi I (Eds), Social Epidemiology (347-367). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 12 Braveman, P. (2011). Accumulating knowledge on the social determinants of health and infectious disease. Public Health Reports, 126 (3), 28-30. 13 Braveman, P., Egerter, S., Williams, D.R.(2011). Determinants of health: Coming of age. Annual Review of Public Health, 32, 381-98. 14 Woolf, S.H., Braveman, P. (2011). Where health disparities begin: the role of social and economic determinants--and why current policies may make matters worse. Health Affairs, 30, 1852-1859. 15 Marmot, M., Wilkinson, R.G. (2000). Social Determinants of Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 16 Blane, D., Brunner, E., Wilkinson, R. (1996). Health and Social Organization: Towards a Health Policy for the Twenty-First Century. London: Routledge. 17 Krieger, N. (2005). Embodying Inequality: Epidemiologic Perspectives. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company, Inc. 18 Berkman, L.F., Kawachi, I. (2000) Social Epidemiology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 19 Buhler-Wilkerson, K. (1993). Bringing care to the people: Lillian Wald's legacy to public health nursing. American Journal of Public Health, 83,1778-86. 20 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, §2702, 124 Stat. 119, 318-319 (2010). November 11, 2013 21 American Public Health Association. (2013). ACA basics and background. Retrieved from: http://www.apha.org/advocacy/Health+Reform/ACAbasics/ 22 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2011) Recession Takes Bite Out of Nation's Public Health Nursing Infrastructure. Retrieved from: http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=73642 23 Institute of Medicine. (2010). The future of nursing: leading change, advancing health. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. Retrieved from: http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12956 24 Institute of Medicine. (2012). Primary Care and Public Health: Exploring Integration to Improve Population Health. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 25 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2012) RWJF Fellow Works to Push Public Health Nursing Forward. Retrieved from: http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/newsroom- content/2012/04/rwjf-fellow-works-to-push-public-health-nursing-forward.html 26 American Nurses Association. (2013). Public health nursing: Scope and standards of practice. (2nd ed.), Washington, DC: American Nurses Publishing. 27 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2008). The essentials of baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice, Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges of Nursing. 28 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2011). The essentials of master’s education in nursing, Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges of Nursing.