Community Health Final Essays

Madison McGowan
Nursing Department, Youngstown State University
Nurs 4844: Community Health Nursing
Professor Dr. Class & Dr. Heasley
December 12th, 2023
 Community Health Final Essays

Prompt 1: Differentiate community health from public health including the concept of
community. Explain the connection between public health nursing and acute care nursing.
Discuss one historical event that has influenced the development of community health
nursing. Describe one way a community health nurse can impact legislation and the
political process.

Community health and public health are both focused on promoting optimal health for
individuals. Community health prioritizes a smaller group of individuals in a specific
community. Community health analyzes issues and needs in a certain community and works out
ways to improve health and solve problems throughout each community. Community health
deals with a lot of problem-solving within a specific area. An example of community health
would be the Youngstown Community Health Center located on Wick Avenue. This clinic
provides free healthcare for members of the community who do not have the financial resources
to afford routine healthcare. This community clinic is catered toward the Youngstown
community due to the focus on providing healthcare to the less fortunate because of
Youngstown's high poverty rate.
Public health focuses on the population as a whole, it looks at promoting health, and
disease prevention, and creating healthcare policies to benefit everyone.
Acute care nursing and public health nursing both treat patients and work toward improving the
health of individuals. Public health nursing practices more on preventative care and disease
education. Acute care nursing focuses more on acutely ill patients and patients in need of
emergent treatment. Public health nursing can result in a decrease in patients in the acute care
setting due to individuals being educated on disease prevention and staying aware of their health.
An example of public health nursing would be a breast cancer screening center. An example of
acute care nursing would be Mercy Health Hospital.
A historical event that has influenced the development of community health nursing
would be the Henry Street Settlement founded by Lillian Wald in 1893. Lillian Wald was a nurse
who noticed an issue with providing adequate care to immigrants and those who did not have the
financial resources to afford it. She then created the Henry Street Settlement to provide
healthcare, education, and social services to the less fortunate communities in the area. This
historical event has shown nurses how to practice empathy and how to treat every individual
equally without their finances affecting the level of care they are able to receive. The success of
the Henry Street Settlement showed the emergent need for community health services in every
community. Before Lillian Wald, the issue of the less fortunate and immigrants not receiving
adequate care was overlooked (Hall, 2017). Lillian Wald fought for change for what she felt was
right and impacted the future of nursing greatly. People, no matter their social class, should be
able to receive high-quality healthcare. Healthcare is an individualized practice and should be
delivered to everyone regardless of their social class or financial situation.
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Community health nurses can have a large impact on legislation and the political process.
Community health nurses can use their expertise to advocate for public health promotion. Nurses
are the first to notice when the healthcare system is failing and needs to be revised. Nurses are
able to bring their education and experience into court and fight for updated and more efficient
laws for their patients (Abood, 2007).
Prompt 2: Discuss the global and national health status and concerns of older adults,
homeless, and disabled persons. Include misconceptions and characteristics of healthy
older adults and discuss chronic conditions commonly found in the older adult population.
Discuss examples of levels of prevention in the older adult population.
The older adult population is vastly growing throughout many countries. Life expectancy has
increased and fewer people are dying from chronic illnesses. This growing population increases
the need for more healthcare and services catered to older adults (GBD collab, 2022). The
homeless population is exposed to more infection due to unsanitary living conditions and the
lack of resources to get adequate healthcare. The homeless are more susceptible to mental illness
as well, resulting from a lack of basic human resources and a lack of support. Disabled persons
may face struggles with maintaining financial stability because many are unable to keep a job or
they are unable to physically do it. Medical care can be quite expensive when one has a chronic
illness or disability, so this can decrease compliance with care in those who are disabled.
There are various misconceptions concerning older adults such as pain, depression, dementia and
loss of mobility are all normal parts of aging. None of these are normal parts of aging and there
are ways to prevent and treat them. Many people see our older population as frail and unable to
maintain optimal health. Aging does not correlate with poor health, and many older adults can
continue to live an extremely healthy life if they live a healthy lifestyle and keep active.
Characteristics of a healthy older adult include living an active lifestyle, a nutritional diet,
staying socially involved, and maintaining their health through frequent doctor visits and getting
evaluated when something seems to be wrong. Older adults are more susceptible to depression
due to bereavement overload, chronic pain, and financial stress. Our elderly need to be evaluated
and treated for mental illness. The suicide risk in older adults is increased, so it is important to
not overlook these symptoms as a normal part of aging.
Various chronic conditions are seen more in older adults, but the most common chronic illnesses
include diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and dementia. Type 2 diabetes is very common
in our older population, but if the patient is compliant they can live a normal life. Problems start
to occur when a diabetic patient becomes noncompliant with care. They can develop chronic
wounds, and loss of eyesight, and eventually may succumb to this illness. While working in the
hospital, I have seen many older adults become non-compliant with their diabetic regimen. I
have seen some complications such as wounds in the lower extremities, neuropathy, and
amputation. These complications are due to decreased blood circulation.
Dementia vastly affects our older adult population. Alzheimer's is the most common form of
dementia in older adults. Dementia doesn’t only affect the patient, but it also is very difficult for
 Community Health Final Essays

the loved ones. In many older adults, dementia can progress to the point where they can no
longer recognize family members and cannot remember anything about themselves or their past.
Primary prevention in older adults would be educating the population on disease prevention and
healthy lifestyles as we age. Secondary prevention would be yearly screenings to detect disease
at the earliest stage. Tertiary prevention would be pain management for a patient who already has
a diagnosis.
Prompt 3: Discuss the risk factors and special complications of childbearing families. What
are some important considerations in developing a health promotion program for this
population? Describe the effects of poverty, as a significant social determinant of health, on
the health of the school-age child. What major health problems exist for the school-age
child? Briefly describe how health status influences academic achievement.
There are various risk factors and complications involving childbearing families. Some of these
risks and complications include maternal age, genetics, medical history, financial instability, and
lifestyle factors such as substance abuse. Some important considerations for developing a health
promotion program for childbearing families would be to educate these families on prenatal care,
nutrition, exercise, safe sleep, stress management, and finance management. Health promotion
programs are needed before a baby is born and are a continuous need throughout childhood. It is
important to teach families healthy behaviors and proper development of a child so they have the
knowledge to know if their child is developing correctly or falling behind. Every family has
unique physical, financial, and emotional needs, so it is important to individualize each family's
health promotion plan. Education is very beneficial in decreasing complications in this
population.
Poverty is a significant social determinant of health in school-aged children. Poverty can affect
children in various negative ways. A poverty-stricken family may not have the resources to
adequately care for a child and provide proper nutrition, a safe home, and other necessities
needed for a healthy child. A child from poverty may experience malnutrition from the lack of
food available. The child may also not receive routine healthcare, making them more susceptible
to disease and infection. Poverty not only affects physical health, but it also affects mental
health. A school-aged child in poverty may not have the resources to maintain good hygiene
properly. This can cause the child to go to school disheveled and malodorous. Peer validation is
very important at this age, so the lack of hygiene can cause insecurity and low self-esteem. The
child may then become isolated and a victim of bullying, which has a major effect on mental
health. Many children who do not suffer from poverty do not understand the situation and lack
empathy for that child. Children experiencing poverty are more at risk for depression, trauma,
and anxiety (Mills, 2022).
School-aged children living in poverty are more susceptible to major health issues such as
developmental delays, infections, asthma, malnutrition, and the lack of resources to comply with
treatment of illness. These children are also more likely to have dental issues due to not being
able to afford proper dental care. An undernourished child may experience physical and mental
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delays due to having a diet that is deficient in nutrients that are needed for proper growth
(Murphey, 2014).
Health status has a large impact on academic success. If a child is hungry, sick or mentally ill,
their concentration will be impacted. Unhealthy children will have an increased number of
absences from school, causing them to fall behind in their academics. A mentally ill child will
also suffer in their academics due to fatigue, lack of motivation, and hopelessness. Many schools
have implemented programs to help less fortunate children succeed. Multiple schools provide
free breakfast and lunch for students who are unable to afford food. Some schools offer free
hygiene products, clothing, etc. for the less fortunate. Many organizations within the community
offer programs to benefit these children and help them attain the resources they need to succeed.
All children should have an equal opportunity to be successful in their academics and live a
healthy lifestyle.