OVERVIEW OF COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING
organizing these benefits as to enable
A.CHN AS A FIELD OF NURSING
PRACTICE
CHN is described as:
 Afield of nursing that is blend or synthesis of
nursing practice with public health using
primary health care as the tool in the delivery
of health services
 A learned practice discipline with the ultimate
goal of contributing as individuals and in
collaboration with others to the promotion of
the client’s optimum level of functioning thru
teaching and delivery of care (Jacobson,1969)
 A service rendered by a professional nurse to
individuals, families, communities and
population groups in health centers, clinics,
schools, and the workplace in order to promote
health, prevent illness, provide care for the
sick at their respective homes, provide
effective rehabilitation (Freeman,1970)
 CHN – (ANA,1980) “A synthesis of nursing
practice and public health practice applied to
promoting and preserving the health of the
populations”
 CHN is considered to be a broader and more
general specialty area that encompasses
subspecialties that include public health
nursing, school nursing, and other developing
fields of practice, such as home health,
hospice care, and independent nurse practice
Definition and Focus of Public Health and
Community Health
 Winslow –known classic definition of Public
health
“Public health is the science and art of:
1. Preventing disease
2. Prolonging life
3. Promoting health and efficiency through
organized community effort for:
       1. Sanitation of the environment  and private efforts.
2. control of communicable infections
3. Education of the individual in personal
hygiene
4. Organizations of medical and nursing
services for the early diagnosis and
preventive treatment of disease.
5.Development of social machinery to
ensure everyone a standard of living
adequate for the maintenance of health, so
every citizen to realize his birth right of
health and longevity.
 Public health connotes organized,
legislated and tax-supported efforts that
serve all people through health
department and governmental agencies.
 Purpose: improve the health of the public
by:
o promoting healthy lifestyles
o preventing disease and injury,
and
o protecting the health of
communities.
Core Public Health Functions
Assessment:
- regular collection, analysis and information
sharing about health conditions, risks, and
resources in the community.
Policy development:
- use of information gathered during
assessment to develop local and health
policies and to direct resources toward
those policies
Assurance:
- Focuses on the availability of necessary
health services throughout the community.
Includes maintaining the ability of both
public health agencies and private
providers to manage day-to-day operations
and having the capacity to respond to
critical situations and emergencies.
Community Health
- Extends the realm of public health to
include organized health efforts of the
community level through the government
- Participants include privately funded
agencies (Phil. Cancer Society or the Phil.
Red Cross)