Discussion Question 1- In community and public health nursing the target of care is the community, thus the community is the client receiving the care. The role of the nurse is to evaluate health concerns, and develop an aggregate plan of care to address those concerns. Aggregates or target populations in the community may include child care centers, cities, counties, senior centers, homeless shelters, minority communities, faith based organizations, work sites, schools, or other populations. Identify and discuss a few targeted populations in your community that are of interest to you, and explain your reasons for the selections identified.
Discussion Question 2 - Using the Intervention Wheel, choose two of the interventions that you feel are most important and discuss how they can be used with an aggregate.
Discussion Question 3 - Which area, rural or urban, has the most health problems? Why?
Discussion Question 4 - What epidemiological issues did you find in your community? What differentiates these as epidemiological issues vs. individual issues? For example, hypertension in the African American population is an epidemiological issue, but in the Caucasian population, it is an individual issue.
Discussion Question 5 - Discuss the top two chronic diseases seen in adults in your area.
Discussion Question 6 - Using one of the health issues identified for your community, discuss health promotion areas at two levels.
Discussion Question 7 - What is the poverty level in your community? How many people live below the poverty level in your community? What does this mean for your community (what issues arise from the poverty level and the number of people below the poverty level)?
Discussion Question 8 - Using the CDC website, conduct a search to compare the causes of death among two ethnicities of the same age or two ages of the same ethnicity. Discuss your selection and the results. Cite two sources to explain your results.
Discussion Question 9 - Discuss the following with regard to the role and responsibilities of a nurse in a community:
How are nurse practitioners utilized in your community?
Do they increase access to health care or work for physicians?
What are the requirements for nurse practitioners in your state?
What privileges do they have that general nurses do not have?
Discussion Question 10 - In your opinion, which of the five pillars defined in the College of Nursing Philosophy -caring, communication, critical thinking, professionalism, and holism is most important in dealing with an aggregate or community?