BSN315 Community Health Nursing

HEALTH ASSESSMENT & EDUCATION

AY 20 23-2024

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 Learning Outcomes
1. Describe the community health assessment process.
2. Describe the factors to be considered in assessing the health of
population.
3. Identify the theoretical bases of health education in communities.
4. Apply the concepts of health education process in this domain.
5. Identify the various situations in which health education for
behavior change can be incorporated into community health
nursing.

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Introduction
• The nursing process is a systematic way of determining
a client health status, isolating health concern and
problems, developing the plans to remediate them,
initiating actions to implement the plan, and finally
evaluating the adequacy of the plan in promoting
wellness and problem resolution.
• The nursing process defines interactions and
interventions with the client system, whether that
system is an individual, a family, an integrate or a
community.

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Nursing Process and Community

The nursing process commonly consists of five phases:

1. Community assessment;
2. Community diagnosis;
3. Planning;
4. Implementation and;
5. Evaluation.
Nursing Process is employed to respond and address the
health needs of the community when the community is
the client.

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 Community Assessment
• Is the process of searching for and validating relevant
community based data according to a specified method, to
learn about the interaction among the people, resources and
environment.
Community assessment includes:
1. Collecting pertinent community data.
2. Analyzing and interpreting the collected data.
Community needs assessment:
Is the process of determining the real or perceived needs of a
defined community of people.

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Purposes of Community Health Assessment

1. Identify extent & kinds of needs.

2. Identify community strengths.
3. Evaluate existing programs.
4. Determine need for new programs.

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Elements of Assessment and Planning

1. Organize and plan

2. Engage the community
3. Conduct community health
assessment
4. Prioritize health issues
5. Develop community health
improvement plan
6. Implement and monitor
community health
improvement plan
7. Evaluate process and
outcomes

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Community Assessment Wheel
(Anderson & McFarland, 2015)

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 Major Aspects of Community Assessment

A. Physical Environment
• Inspect open spaces, boundaries, transportation service
centers, markets places, meeting street people, ethnicity,
religion, health and morbidity, political media.
• Listen to the community residents about the physical
environment.
• Observe the climate, terrain, natural boundaries such as
rivers and hills, hosing age, architecture, building materials
used, signs of disrepair, running water, plumbing, sanitation,
windows (glasses)..etc.

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 B. Health & Social services

• Health: hospitals, clinics, home health care, public health

care,….
• Services: counseling, clothing, food, shelter….. Services.

C. Economics
• Financial characteristics, median household income,
percentage of households.
• Labor force characteristics, employment status of the
general population greater than 18 years of age.

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D. Safety, Transportation, Authorities

• Protection Services: Police, fire, water treatment & solid

waist, sanitation, air quality.
• Primary means of transportation; walking, mule, taxi,
bus, train, private car, and air services.
• Frequency and affordability of public/private transport,
and standard of roads.
• Rules and policies of healthcare in the state.
• Healthcare systems

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6. Communication

o Newspapers, Radios, bulletin boards, posters,

newsletters, “unofficial” neighborhood papers
o How do people get information?

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 F. Education and Recreation
• Educational status: years of school completed, enrollment
by type of school, language spoken.
• Educational sources: types of schools, % of attendance,
graduation, resources and services offered
• Types of facilities: parks, picnic areas,…. etc.
• established by whom? citizen involvement in programs

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Community Assessment Tools

1. Focus Group Interview

2. Public Issues Forum

3. Secondary Data Analysis

4. Community Survey Questionnaire

5. Interviews

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Community Assessment Tools
• The focus group is a way to gather the opinions/ ideas from a
small, targeted group of citizens.
• The intention of focus groups is perhaps more to build a synergy
of thoughts and ideas than it is to make projections about the
community.
• Community forums are public meetings that involve residents to
express their concerns about community issues, problems, and
needs..

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Community Assessment Tools
• Secondary data is data that is collected about a particular
audience without having direct contact with that audience.
It can often provide insight about emerging trends or issues
in a particular community.
• Community surveys help one to gather info about local
attitudes regarding correctly defined issues, problems or
opportunities. Surveys may be open ended or multiple
choice.

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Community Assessment Tools
Community Interview: designed to help you gather information
about peoples assumptions/perceptions. of activities in your
community.
◦ Useful when looking for in-depth information on a particular
topic.

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Community Education

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 Community Education
• Education is a process which informs, motivate and
helps people to adopt and maintain healthy practices
and life styles.
When do we need health education?
1. To change behaviors that put people at risk for injury,
disease, disability, or death.
2. To increase the knowledge, skills, & confidence needed
to make decisions.
 AIM OF HEALTH EDUCATION

1. To inform the general public of the principles of physical

and mental hygiene and methods of preventing
avoidable diseases.
2. To create an informed body of opinion and knowledge.
(social workers, teachers)
3. To give the public accurate information of medical
discoveries.
4. To facilitate the acceptance and proper usage of medical
measures.
CONTENT OF HEALTH EDUCATION
1. Human Biology
2. Nutrition
3. Hygiene
4. Family Health Care
5. Control of Communicable and Non- Communicable
Diseases
6. Mental health
7. Prevention of Accidents
8. Use of Health Services
Human Biology
CONTENT OF HEALTH EDUCATION
Nutrition
Teach about prevention of malnutrition, nutrient value
of food stuffs, Methods of preparation , storage…
Hygiene: Personal & Environmental
 CONTENT OF HEALTH EDUCATION

Family Health Care:

• Strengthen and improve the health of the family as a unit
rather than as an individual.
• Maternal and child health care, family planning, immunization,
nutrition, etc.

Control of Communicable/Non-Communicable diseases:

• Provide elementary knowledge about the nature of the
diseases and methods of preventing them
CONTENT OF HEALTH EDUCATION
Mental Health
• Depression, neurosis, mental anxiety and emotional
disturbances.
• Basic knowledge of common psychological ailments, its
detection, methods of prevention and treatment.
CONTENT OF HEALTH EDUCATION
Prevention of Accidents
People taught about basic safety rules and prevent
common accidents.
CONTENT OF HEALTH EDUCATION

Use of Health services

People should be informed about various health services
and preventive programs available to them.
Principles of Health Education

1. Interest:
Identify the ”felt needs” of the people. Then prepare a
program.
2. Participation:
Educator should encourage people to participate in health
education programs
Group discussions, panel discussions, etc provide opportunities
for people’s participation.
Principles of Health Education

3. Known to Unknown
Start with what the people already know and then give the new
knowledge.
Existing knowledge as people as the basic step.
4. Comprehension
Determine the level of literacy and understanding of audience.
Language of communication, understandable to audience.
Usage of technical or medical terms should be avoided.
 Principles of Health Education

5. Reinforcement:
Also called as “booster dose”
Refers to repetition needed
When not possible for people to learn new things in short time
6. Motivation
Defined as “the fundamental desire for learning in an individual”.
2 types :
1. Primary motive  inborn desires (food, clothing, housing).
2. Secondary motive  outside forces (gifts, a word of praise, love,
rewards).
 Tips for Effective Teaching
1. Design teaching based on 8. Use variety of teaching methods
holistic assessment.
9. Provide visual learning materials
2. Set learner-validated
objectives. 10. Role play skills, give chance for
practice
3. Create learning environment. 11. Provide immediate feedback, be
4. Keep things simple. constructive
5. Written materials must be 12. Develop mechanisms of support
appropriate. like involving family

6. Be very specific. 13. Review major points of each

learning session
7. Avoid threatening messages. 14. Ask for feedback & evaluation,
have learners input always
Health Literacy
 “The degree to which
individuals have the capacity to
obtain, process, and
understand basic information
and services needed to make
appropriate decisions
regarding their health.” The
Institute of Medicine 2004
 Health literacy allows the
public and personnel working
in all health-related contexts to
find, understand, evaluate,
communicate, and use
information.

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 Health Literacy Includes
1. Finding health information
2. Understanding it
3. Evaluating it
4. Communicating it
5. Using it…acting on it…to live longer and better!