community health nursing

Community health nursing is the nursing care given to the people living in the community, which referrers to the certain area where people are living. Community health nurses have to provide the care of the community as if they are providing care to the patient in the hospital. Community health nurses has to visit the individual homes and the people living in the home and assess the problems of the people, not only that much, they have to find out the people who might need the special care and who has been hidden by the family members due to some problem and report those people to right place. Community health nursing is the new trend of the nursing evolved in the nursing faculty and community health nurses has to meet some standards of practice.
Standards of Community health Nursing Practice
1. Theory
The nurse applies theoretical concepts as a basis for decision in practice.
2. Data collection
The nurse systematically collects data that are comprehensive and accurate.
3. Diagnosis:
The nurse analyses data collected about the community family and individual to determine diagnoses.
4. planning
At each level of prevention, the nurse develops plans that specify nursing actions unique to client needs.
5. Intervention
The nurse guided by the plan intervenes to promote, maintain, or restore health to prevent illness, and to effect rehabilitation.
6. Evaluation
The nurse evaluates response of the community, family and individual to interventions to determine progress toward goal achievement and to revise the data base, diagnoses, and plan.
7. Quality assurance and professional development
The nurse participates in peer review and other means of evaluation to assure quality of nursing practice. The nurse assumes responsibility for professional development and contributes to professional growth of others.
8. Interdisciplinary collaboration
The nurse collaborates with other health care providers, professional and community representatives in assessing planning implementing and evaluation programs for community health.
9. Research
The nurse contributes to theory and practice in community health nursing through research.

Mentioned above are the standards that the community health nurses have to meet in their practices. Below are the some activities that community health nurses have to accomplish while in their practice.
1. Takes preventive or corrective action individually or in partnership to protect individuals and communities from unsafe or unethical circumstances.
2. Advocates for societal change in support of health for all.
3. Uses nursing informatics (including information and communication technology) to generate, manage and process relevant data to support nursing practice.
4. Identifies and takes action on factors which affect autonomy of practice and quality of care.
5. Participates in the advancement of community health nursing by mentoring students and new practitioners.
6. Participates in research and professional activities.
7. Makes decisions using ethical standards and principles, taking into consideration the tension between individual versus societal good and the responsibility to uphold the greater good of all people or the population as a whole.
8. Seeks help with problem solving as needed to determine the best course of action in response to ethical dilemmas, risks to human rights and freedoms, new situations and new knowledge.
9. Identifies and works proactively—through personal advocacy and participation in relevant professional associations—to address nursing issues that will affect the population.
10. Contributes proactively to the quality of the work environment by identifying needs, issues and solutions, mobilizing colleagues and actively participating in team and organizational structures and mechanisms.
11. Provides constructive feedback to peers as appropriate to enhance community health nursing practice.
12. Documents community health nursing activities in a timely and thorough manner, including telephone advice and work with communities and groups.
13. Advocates for effective and efficient use of community health nursing resources.
14. Uses reflective practice to continually assess and improve personal community health nursing practice.
15. Seeks professional development experiences that are consistent with current community health nursing practice, new and emerging issues, the changing needs of the population, the evolving impact of the determinants of health and emerging research.
16. Acts upon legal obligations to report to appropriate authorities any situations of unsafe or unethical care provided by family, friends or other individuals to children or vulnerable adults.
17. Uses available resources to systematically evaluate the availability, acceptability, quality, efficiency and effectiveness of community health nursing practice.