The History of Public Health and the Role of the Community

The History of Public Health and the Role of the Community/Public Health Nurse
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The History of Public Health and the Role of the Community/Public Health Nurse
This paper provides a summary of the history of public health nursing and the way in which this history has influenced the primary functions of community/public health nursing as well as the practice standards as it relates to Public Health Nurse (PHN). This paper also provides an outline of the population served by the PHN. Moreover, the interventions that a PHN may use are discussed. The level of practice used in the practice setting of the PHN and an ethical dilemma that might be encountered by a PHN are explained. Lastly, an analysis is provided of how this information impacts the nursing profession.
History of Public Health Nursing
Public health nursing deals entirely with populations and population groups (Philibin et al., 2010). In America, public health nurses have for over 125 years worked to develop strategies for responding well to the existing public health problems. During the early periods of America’s settlement, caring for sick persons was typically informal and it was mainly done by women. The female head of the house collected herbs to heal the sick. However, this traditional system became inadequate thanks to the growing urban populations during the early 19th century (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). The American Medical Association established in the year 1847 created a hygiene committee who purpose was to carry out sanitary surveys and to create a system for collecting important statistics.
In 1850, the Shattuck Report was published and it called for significant innovations including town planning, well-child care, alcohol and tobacco control, health education, communicable disease control, as well as teaching of preventive medicine in medical schools. Florence Nightingale’s model of nursing education and her vision of trained nurses influenced, albeit indirectly, the development of public health nursing in America (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). Lillian Wald, during the early 20th century, took measures aimed at increasing access to public health nursing services by way of innovation.
The history of public health has influenced the core functions of community/public health nursing and the standards of practice as it relates to Public Health Nurse in that just as in the 1800s when public health nursing was just beginning, public health nurses today work in various communities to improve the health status of families, individuals, as well as populations, particularly those that belong to vulnerable groups. Many challenging and diverse public health nursing roles started off during the late 1800s at a time when public health efforts were focused on environmental conditions like education for health, controlling communicable illnesses, prevention of disability and disease, and care of sick people and the aged in their homes (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). Even as the manifestation of these many threats to peoples’ health have altered over the years, the foundational goals and principles of public health nursing have not changed. Just like in the 1800s, Public Health Nurses ...