Community Health Nursing

*A field of nursing that is a 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
through teaching and delivery of care.

• 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, and provide
effective rehabilitation.

Philosophy:
It is based on the belief that care directed to the individual, family, and the group contributes to
the healthcare of the population as a whole.

Goal:
• is to assist the individual, family, and community in attaining their highest level of holistic
health which is attained through multidisciplinary effort, and to promote reciprocally supportive
relationships between people and their physical and social environment.

Recipients of Care by CHN Nurses:

• Population Groups- vulnerable groups or those at risk of developing certain health

or health-related problems
-who share common characteristics, developmental stage, or common exposure to particular
environmental factors
-common characteristics, traits, needs or problems
-age, sex, illness or disease, socio-economic status, lifestyle or habits which are unhealthy.
-women, children, young people, older people, people with disabilities, black and minority ethnic
groups, and those in deprived communities.
-hard-to-reach communities

Recipients of Care by CHN Nurses:

• The Community- can be described as:
-A group of people sharing common geographic boundaries and /or common values and
interests.
-that functions within a particular sociocultural context and varying physical environment and the
people's way of behaving and coping differ from one group to another.

General Characteristics of a Community;

1. A community is defined by the geographic boundaries within certain
identifiable characteristics
• It is made of institutions organized into a social system with the institutions and
organizations linked in a complex network having a formal and informal power structure and
communication system.
• It has common or shared interests that bind the members together
• It has an area with fluid boundaries within which a problem can be identified and solved

2. regarded as an " organism"

-Has its own stages of development
-Matures fast or slow
-Responses to problems: adequate, inadequate, inappropriate or delayed

Classifications of a Community
1. Rural communities- as open lands, often agricultural in nature which are more spacious
and less populated.
2. Urban communities - known as cities that are non-agricultural by nature, are closely
densely populated and marked by industrial products and technology.
3. Suburban or rurban or the capitals- the administrative capital of a province characterized by
a unique mix of agriculture and industry.

Characteristics of a Healthy Community

• Awareness that "we are a community"
• Conservation of natural resources
*Recognition of and respect for the existence of subgroups
*Participation of subgroups in community affairs
*Preparation to meet crises
*Ability to solve problems
*Communication through open channels
• Resources available to all
*Settling of disputes through legitimate mechanisms
*Participation by citizens in decision-making
• Wellness of a high degree among its members

I. Community Health and Development

Community Development
- is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes participative
democracy, sustainable development, rights, economic opportunity, equality, and social
justice, through the organization, education, and empowerment of people within the
community.
- it is a process for implementing change, a program of specified objectives, an outcome and
an ideology of action.

Community Health and Development Community Health and Development (CHD) is a

comprehensive approach that integrates healthcare with community development principles.
- Community Participation
- Social Determinants of Health
- Empowerment
- Sustainability

I. Community Health and Development

- focuses on improving the well-being of a specific geographic area or population through
collaborative efforts to address social, environmental, and economic factors that impact health.

I. Community Health and Development Benefits of Community Health and Development:

-Improved health outcomes
-Increased community participation
-More sustainable solutions
-Reduced health disparities
-Enhanced social cohesion

I. Community Health and Development

Approaches to Community Health and Development:
-Primary Healthcare
- Health Promotion
- Community Development
-Intersectoral Collaboration
-Capacity Building

I. Community Health and Development

-Establishing a community health center
-Training community health workers
-Developing income-generating projects
-Improving sanitation and access to clean water
-Organizing health awareness campaigns

Community Organizing- a process consisting of steps or activities that instill and

reinforce the people's self-confidence in their own collective strengths and capabilities.
(Manalili, 1990)
- is a process that revolves around people's lives, experiences, and aspirations.
- it is a process that is people-centered and geared towards continuing capability
building, self-reliance, and empowerment.

- CO is the process that builds/ mobilizes people and other community resources towards
identifying and solving their own problems, establishing people's awareness and capacities
to stage their own future - Dacanay 1993

Community Organizing
- an effective tool for the poor and powerless as they determine for themselves the actions
they will take to deal with the essential forces that are destroying their community and causing
them to be powerless.
- it is the development of the community's collective capacities to solve its own problems
and aspire for development through its own efforts
identify and implement solutions apd monitor and evaluate the efforts in resolving the problem.
- It is a continuous process of educating the community to develop its capacity to assess
and analyze the situation, plan and implement interventions (mobilization), and evaluate
them.
- is a values-based process

- CO aims to transform the voiceless and the powerless into a dynamic, participatory,
and politically responsive community.
- as a planned process to activate a community to use its own social structures and any
available resources to accomplish community goals that are decided on primarily by
community representatives and generally consistent with local values.
Man is a social being. He cannot develop unless he is part of society.
He must work together with his fellowmen for common interests. The problems of other men are
his problems. Together they must search for solutions.

Essence of Community Organizing Process:

- Focus of Community organizing is to achieve self-reliance
- Aim of Community Organizing is community development
- Concept of Community Organizing is teamwork
- Element of Community Organizing is the participation of people
-Strategies of Community Organizing are teaching, training, and transfer of technology.

Community Organizing
Process:
• Diagnose
• Plan
• Implement
• -Assess
• Evaluate

Goals:
• People empowerment
• Development of a self-reliant community
• Improved quality of life

People empowerment
- Teaching the communities and building their capacities
- Mobilizing people develop their capacity and readiness to respond and take action on
their immediate and long-term needs.
Development of a self-reliant community
- guides the community in decision-making
- Make them aware of their power to assert their rights, and allow them to make decisions over
matters that affect their lives. As a result, they become the health care professionals' partners
in health care delivery and overall community development.
Improved quality of life

- Community development means improved access to resources that will enable the people
to improve their standard of living and overall quality of life.

A. Community Organizing Towards Community

Participation Health
- is a process where community members come together to identify health needs, plan
and implement solutions, and create sustainable structures to address those needs
- People-centered
- Participatory
- Democratic
- Developmental
- Process-oriented

A. Community Organizing Towards Community

Participation Health
- Needs Assessment
- Planning and Implementation
- Building Organizations
- Empowerment

Benefits Increased participation

● Improve health outcomes
● Community ownership
● Sustainable solution
● Social justice
A. Community Organizing Towards Community
Participation Health
Example: A community might organize to address a lack of access to clean water. Through
community organizing, they would identify the problem, plan a solution (e.g., building a well,
improving sanitation), and work together to implement and maintain it.

Community Health and Development

-Establishing a community health center
-Training community health workers
-Developing income-generating projects
-Improving sanitation and access to clean water
-Organizing health awareness campaigns
Primary Health Care (PHC)
• is a strategy focused on providing accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare services,
particularly at the community level, to address the basic health needs of the population. It
emphasizes preventive, promotive, and rehabilitative care, aiming to improve the overall
health and well-being of Filipinos.

Benefits of primary health care

Improve health outcomes
Reduce health care cost
Greater equity in health care
Stronger communities

Primary Health Care (PHC)

Core Principles and Goals:
• Accessibility
• Affordability
• Quality
• Community Involvement
• Intersectoral Collaboration
• Integration

Primary Health Care (PHC)

• Essential Health Services
• Community Health Workers
• First Point of Contact
• Referral System

Primary Health Care (PHC

Implementations:
• Th% Alma: Alas Decataloa strong advocate for PHC since the sponsible for implementing i
Ce progray government agency
• The DOH collaborates with local government units (LGUs) to deliver PHC services at
the community level.
• The Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, enacted in 2019, further strengthens the
implementation of PHC by ensuring equitable access to quality healthcare services for all
Filipinos.
• PhilHealth, the national health insurance agency, plays a vital role in financing PHC services.

Community Organizing is a values-based process:

1. Human Rights
2. Social Justice
3. Social responsibility

Core Principles in Community Organizing

1. Community Organizing is people-centered - is that the people are the means and ends
of development, and community empowerment is the process and the outcome.
-CO groups are committed to developing membership and leadership from a broad spectrum of
the community, with many dedicated to fostering participation among groups that have been
absent.
-CO is not meant for a person-to-person interaction with only a few who will benefit from any
undertakings and activities.
-CO is a people-centered strategy, with emphasis on the development of human resources
necessitating education.
-CO is a process that promotes the development of people's autonomy and self-reliance.
Core Principles in Community Organizing

2. Community Organizing is Participative

- The participation of the community in the entire process; assessment,
planning, Implementation, and evaluation.
- Participative culture-they devote considerable time and resources to enlarging ski
knowledge and responsibilities of their members.
- For people empowerment, community participation is a critical condition for success