Assignment task:
Respond to at least two colleagues on two different days in one or more of the following ways:
Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, evidence, or research.
Share an insight from having read your colleagues' postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own research in the Walden Library.
Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.
Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.
Expand on your colleagues' postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence. Need Assignment Help?
NURS-8310-EPI
Reply from Marissa Hall
Clara Louise Maass and Lavinia Lloyd Dock are two nurses who played a dynamic role in laying the foundations that still shape modern nursing practice in advocacy and engagement. Clara Louise Maass was an American contract nurse who volunteered for yellow fever experiments in Cuba. Maass volunteered to be bitten by infected mosquitoes to support research led by Dr. Walter Reed and died at the age of 25 after a second exposure (National Museum of Health and Medicine, 2025). These experiments demonstrated that yellow fever is transmitted via mosquitoes and prompted the cessation of risky human trials as well as large-scale mosquito eradications in Havana, shaping vector-control policies thereafter (Parasites & Vectors, 2022). Maass was honored posthumously by commemorative stamps, induction into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame, and a medical center bearing her name, reflecting the profound respect for her sacrifice (Parasites & Vectors, 2022). Maass's contribution resonates in modern vector-control strategies rooted in surveillance, education, and environmental interventions.
Lavinia Lloyd Dock was a nurse, educator, and social activist. She authored Materia Medica for Nurses, one of the first nursing drug manuals. She co-founded professional organizations such as the National League for Nursing and the International Council of Nurses and served as assistant superintendent at Johns Hopkins (American Nurse Historian, 2025). Additionally, she embraced social justice initiatives by working at the Henry Street Settlement. It was one of the first places where public health nursing was practiced (National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2015). Nurses went directly into homes to offer care, health education, and advocacy (National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2015). These two nurses' contributions inspire the nursing community with their incredible work. Dock's work laid the groundwork for nurse-led public health initiatives and professional autonomy that have evolved with technology and advanced training, not replaced.
Today's nurses play a vital role in improving population health through two key pathways. First, nurses use their clinical knowledge and frontline experience through policy engagement and advocacy to inform health policies and legislation, helping protect vulnerable populations and drive meaningful reforms (NurseJournal.org, 2024). Second, nurses lead community health education and disease prevention efforts by organizing outreach programs, promoting wellness, and coordinating preventive care services. These initiatives foster more equitable health outcomes by empowering individuals with knowledge and improving access to resources (Nevada State University, 2023).Epidemiology equips nurses with essential tools to interpret data, identify health risks, and plan, implement, and evaluate community interventions. During crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses trained in epidemiology led contact tracing, vaccination efforts, and equity-focused health communication, underscoring their critical public health role (NCBI, 2022).
References:
American Nurse Historian. (2025). From the desk of the historian: Lavinia Lloyd Dock (1858-1956). American Nurse.
National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2022). The evolving role of nurse leadership in the fight for health equity. Public Health Nursing.
National Museum of Health and Medicine. (2025, July 29). Clara Maass and the battle against yellow fever.
Nevada State University. (2023). The growing role of BSN nurses in public health and disease prevention.
NurseJournal dot org. (2024, February 22). Why policy engagement is the next big nursing trend.
Parasites & Vectors. (2022). Acknowledging extraordinary women in the history of medical entomology. Parasites & Vectors, 15, 52234.
NURS-8310-Epi
Reply from Anasooyadevi
Two Nurses lived in the 1800s or Early 1900s, their Role in Policies and Practices, and their Initiatives
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was the pioneer of evidence-based nursing practice in improving patient outcomes. The use of data analysis by Nightingale and the establishment of nursing education laid a foundation for the current nursing profession. The main part of her work is in sanitation and infection control, and she is cognizant of John Snow's 1984 epidemiological research, which demonstrated the direct connection between cholera and contaminated water from London's Broad Street Pump (Turkowski & Turkowski, 2024). After identifying the connection between sanitation and the spread of infection, Nightingale advocated for hygiene practices to improve patient care. During the Crimean War, Nightingale reorganized and redefined the sanitation of military hospitals, which helped in reducing mortality rates and laid the foundation for modern infection control protocols. In fact, her sanitary reform is one of the important public health initiatives to this day (Turkowski & Turkowski, 2024). In addition, Nightingale collected and analyzed data on patient outcomes, mortality rates, and healthcare practices. Her statistical analysis provided a valuable insight into the effectiveness of environmental factors in patients' health and an urgent need for improved sanitation, including clean water, proper ventilation, and cleaning of hospital wards. Her innovative approach to data analysis set the way for evidence-based practice, epidemiology, and data-driven decision-making (Turkowski & Turkowski, 2024).
Another nurse, Clara Barton (1821-1912), the founder of the American Red Cross, was involved in the events of the Civil War. Though she was not formally trained as a nurse, she helped the wounded men by collecting data on the lack of supplies, including food and clothing, and developed the standards for emergency care. In addition, she witnessed the disorganization of wartime relief, which motivated her to advocate for policy change on emergency response. She established the National First Aid Association of America, focused on emergency preparedness and the development of first aid kits. Her hands-on humanitarian work and efforts influenced the national healthcare policy, especially in medical response and battlefield care.
Nurses' Role in Population Health and Epidemiology:
Nurses play a vital role in healthcare, including preventing illnesses and promoting the population's health. They advocate for developing and implementing policies that affect population health worldwide and locally. Population health nurse assists in health maintenance with the focus on shared accountability for the upstream environment, social and community factors, which are the causative factors in chronic disease and healthcare expenditure (Ariosto et al., 2018). Finally, population health nurses are competent in real-time assessment and identification of issues negatively affecting health and well-being, risk stratification, analyzing the data, creating the link between community resources and services, and developing population-focused interventions to promote the health of the public (Ariosto et al., 2018).
References:
American Red Cross. Founder Clara Barton.
Ariosto, D. A., Harper, E.M., Wilson, M. L., Hull, S.C., Nahm, E.S., & Sylvia, M.L. (2018). Population health: A nursing action plan. JAMIA Open, 1(1), 7-10.
Turkowski, Y., & Turkowski, V. (2024). Florence Nightingale (1820-1910). The founder of modern nursing. Cureus, 16 (8). doi: 10.7759/cureus.66192