Community Health Nursing 2

UNIT 1: VITAL STATISTICS

 Vital Statistics are known by different names such as life tables, statistics
regarding birth and death, essential data of life statistics.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• Gain knowledge about the topic

• Apply the essential steps in community health care process

Pre Test
Directions: Read the following statements carefully. For your answer write “T” if the statement
is correct and write “F” if the statement is not correct. Write your answer on the space provided
before each number(2 points each).

_____1. Community Organizing maximizes community participation and involvement.

_____2. Community Organizing is critical in delivering the goal of self-reliance and

social awareness.

_____3. Community Organizing Participatory Action Research is a group centered and

leader-oriented.

_____4. Community Organizing Participatory Action Research is participatory and mass

based.

_____5. Community Organization should be based on power, development and people’s

participation.
Content
Vital Statistics is data/ record regarding marriage, birth, diseases and death, on the
basis of which community health and development are studied. It is the numerical
description of birth, death, abortion, marriage, divorce, adoption and judicial separation.

Uses and Importance of Vital Statistics

General Uses:
• Legal necessity
• Administrative utility
• Useful in planning
• International utility
• Bases of social reform

Health Uses
• Determination of health status of individual/ community, health problems and
health needs
• Making programme for health
• Improvement in administration
• Comparing the health status of one nation with others
• Evaluation of health program
• For analysis of the trends of health statistics

Components of Vital Statistics

• Demography
• Vital events
• Environmental health statistics
• Communicable disease
• Non-communicable disease
• Health status like mortality, morbidity, disability, quality of life
• Health resources like facilities, manpower
• Utilization and non-utilization of health services-attendance, admission, waiting
list
• Nutrition
• Obstetric and gynaecological, pediatric care and problems
• Genetic health
 • Occupational health

Health Indicators
A list of information which would determine the health or a particular community
like population, crude birth rate, crude death rate, infant and maternal death rates,
neonatal death rates and tuberculosis death rate.

Birth — a coming into being; the act or process of being born

Rates — a relation indicating the number of times a certain event occurs when a certain number
of exposures to the risks of occurrence is present in a given period of time.

Types of Important

• Crude Birth Rate

Is a rough measure of fertility in a population since it make use of mid-year
population (which includes the number of men and women incapable of
childbearing) as its denominator.

• Marriages
The institution whereby men and women are joined in a special kind of
social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining
a family.

• Migration
The transfer of one individual to another locality.

• Crude Death Rate

The numbers of deaths ( from all cause) per estimated mid year
population in one year, in a given place.

• Infant Mortality rate

The ratio of infant deaths registered in a given year to the total number of
live births registered in the same year, usually expressed as a rate per
1000 live births.

• Neonatal Mortality Rate

 Number of neonatal deaths ( infant as less than 28 days) in a given year
per 1000 live births in that year

• General Fertility Rate

This expresses number of live births per thousand women in the
productive age group 15-49 years in a given years.

• Maternal Mortality Rate

The death of a women while pregnant or within 42days of termination of
pregnancy , irrespective of the duration and site of pregnancy, from any cause
related to or aggravated by the pregnancy.

• Life Expectancy
This expresses the average number of years of a person is expected to
live, in the existing conditions of probability of death.

Methods of Collection
• Census
• Registration

BASIC CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES IN HEALTH CARE

DEVELOPMENT

A. Health as Multifactorial Phenomenon Factors

affecting Health

1. Political
Involves one’s leadership, how he/she rules, manages and involves other people
in decision making.

 Safety
The condition of being free from harm, injury or loss protection from
exploitative working conditions expanding access to social security.
• Oppression unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power.

• Political Will
 Determined to pursue something which is in the interest of the majority.
 Empowerment
The ability of a person to do something.Creating the circumstances where
people can use their faculties and abilities at the maximum level in the
pursuit of common goals.

2. Cultural
Relating to the representation of nonphysical traits, such as values, beliefs,
attitude and custom shared by a group of people passed from one generation to
the next.

 Practices
A customary action usually done to maintain or promote health like usage
of anting-anting or lucky charms.
 Beliefs
Is a state of habit of mind wherein a group of people place a trust into
something or person.

3. Heredity
The genetics transmission of traits from parents to offspring: genetically
determined.

4. Environment
The sum total of all the conditions and elements that make up the surroundings
and influence the development of an individual.

5. Socio-Economic
Refers to the production activities, distribution and consumption of goods of an
individual.

B. Principles of Community Health Care Development Process 1. Health &

Development are Interrelated
Health is not merely the absence of diseases. Neither it is only a state of
physical and mental well-being. Health, being a social phenomenon
recognizes the interplay of political, socio-cultural and economic factors as
its determinants. Good health therefore, is manifested by the progressive
improvements in the living conditions and quality of life enjoyed by the
community residents.
 2. Essential Health Services must be accessible, available, acceptable and
affordable
The health services should be present where the supposed recipients are.
They should make use of the available resources that is found in the
community, wherein the focus would be more on promotes health and
prevention of illness.

3. Genuine People’s Participation is Essential

People are the center, object and subject of development thus, the
success of any undertaking that aims at serving the people is dependent
on the people’s participation at all levels of decision-making: planning,
implementing, monitoring and evaluating. Any undertaking must also be
based on the people’s needs problems. In general, health work should
start from where the people are and building on what they have.

IMPLICATIONS OF HEALTH STATISTICS TO INDIVIDUAL, FAMILY

AND COMMUNITY

Vital Statistics which is concerned and mainly with the study of births, illnesses
and deaths occurring in a defined population for a specified time period, is an
indispensable tool in planning, implementation, and evaluation of any health program.
They serve, as indices of the health condition obtaining in a community or population
group, provide valuable clues as to the nature of health services or actions needed and
serve as bases for determining the success or failure of such service/action. Health
personnel share with community they serve the responsibility of planning and taking the
necessary actions to solve the latter’s health problems.

Furthermore, they are expected to be able to maintain accurate and updated statistical
records and reports. To be able to perform these responsibilities effectively, they should
understand the significance of vital statistics, how they are obtain and how to interpret
them.

THANK YOU! GOD BLESS !