Public Health Nurse-Topic 4-Public Health Nursing Assessment using the Public Health Nursing Tool (PHNAT)

QUESTION- Topic 4 – Public Health Nursing Assessment using the Public Health Nursing Tool (PHNAT)

Performing a public health nursing assessment is a critical first step in determining health needs and appropriate interventions to meet them. For this assignment you perform a public health nursing assessment using the Public Health Nursing Tool (PHNAT) included in Chapter 3 of the textbook, complete an assessment on a selected population. You are free to use your setting/population of interest discussed in Topic 3 DQ 1 or choose another population of interest.

Using the assessment framework provided by the PHNAT, develop a 1,250-1,500 report summarizing your assessment findings and identifying the public health needs for your selected population. Your summary should include the following:

1. Resources to identify and engage stakeholders, define your diverse community
2. Collection and analysis of data regarding diverse community health issues
3. Summary of how the documentation of the above could be disseminated to the community and its stakeholders

Consider the importance of preparing and providing quality care to the diverse groups within your community. Within your summary, include how you would plan improvement strategies to include a Healthy People 2020 initiative. Lastly, include steps for implementation of the improvement plans and specifics guiding an evaluation of the plan.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

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Solution

 Public Health Nursing Assessment

Introduction

Conducting a public health nursing assessment is an important step in determining the health needs of individuals, families, communities, and entire populations in a given region and coming up with the ideal interventions to meet such health needs. Assessment is also a core function of public health nursing and assists public health nurses in clearly understanding a community’s healthcare needs (McCollum et al., 2017). Therefore, public health nurses understand that the communities in which individuals, families, or populations reside have a significant influence on their health and well-being and that of all stakeholders. Similarly, the individual family and populations influence the health of the general community. Therefore, an effective assessment tool helps a public health nurse discover the healthcare needs of a given community and find effective ways of addressing such needs. This paper includes an assessment of the community’s public health needs in Fairfax County, Virginia, through the use of the Public Health Nursing Tool (PHNAT). This paper identifies the public health needs of the community Public Health Nursing Tool (PHNAT) and provides suggestions of how such needs can be addressed.

Resources

The resources utilized to identify and engage stakeholders in Fairfax County, Northern Virginia, include government agencies and departments such as the US Census Bureau and the Fairfax County health department. The data from government agencies and departments such as the Fairfax County health department help to adequately assess the community’s public health needs in Fairfax County. In addition, the Public Health Nursing Tool (PHNAT) will also be used to identify and engage the various stakeholders that affect the public health needs of the population in Fairfax County.  The PHNAT assesses the different elements of the health of the community members in Fairfax County, including their general health status, their well-being and health-related quality of life, determinants of health in the area, and the different policies and laws which affect the health of the population (Truglio-Londrigan & Lewenson, 2017).

Diverse Community

According to the US Census Bureau, the northern Virginia region is one of the fastest-growing urban communities in the US. The northern Virginia region, which includes Fairfax County, is one of the most densely populated areas in Virginia (US Census Bureau, 2020). Some regions in Fairfax County have numerous health challenges associated with the rising population and increasing demand for public programs and health services. Fairfax County had a population of 1.146 million people by 2019 (US Census Bureau, 2020). Fairfax County also had the largest minority population, with African Americans, Hispanic, and Asians representing 9.7% to 16.2% and 18.9% of the County’s population, respectively, by 2018 (US Census Bureau, 2020). Population data also indicates that one in every four Hispanics in Virginia resides in Fairfax County (US Census Bureau, 2020). A large minority population in Fairfax County highlights the diversity of the community.

Collection and Analysis of Data

Utilizing the Public Health Nursing Tool (PHNAT), different elements that will affect the public health needs of the population in Fairfax County can be assessed. This includes assessing the general health status of the population by determining the mortality, morbidity, and general life expectancy of the population (Truglio-Londrigan & Lewenson, 2017). Fairfax County has a morbidity ranking of 4 compared to other counties in Virginia. On the other hand, the life expectancy in Fairfax County is 85.1 years which is higher than the national average of 79.1 years (CDC, 2018). In Fairfax County, 6% of the population is below five years while 23% is below 18 years 14% of the population is above 65 years. In addition, 50.4% of the population in Fairfax County are female, while 49.6% are male (US Census Bureau, 2020).

Relating to the social determinants of health, most of the population in Fairfax County live in their own houses, with owner-occupied housing unit rates being 68% which is 4% higher than the national average. The median value of housing units in Fairfax County is $563100, which is more than double the national average value of housing units which is $217500. (US Census Bureau, 2020). Relating to the level of education, 92.5% of the population in Fairfax County graduated high school, while 61.6% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The median household income in Fairfax County is $124,831, which is double that of the national average of $62 843. In Fairfax County, 8.8% of the population does not have health insurance (US Census Bureau, 2020).

Considering the general health status and the social determinants of the health of the population in Fairfax County from the data of the PHNAT, the diverse community health issues include mental health problems, alcohol, drug, and opioid abuse, and obesity (CDC, 2018). Mental health problems including depression, stress, anxiety, and suicide are highly prevalent in Fairfax County, especially among diverse populations. In addition, alcohol and drug abuse is also a significant health challenge affecting the population in Fairfax County. Finally, obesity and overweight nurses are a significant health challenge in Fairfax County and contribute to the increased prevalence of adverse health outcomes and diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases (CDC, 2018).

Documentation Summary

Reviewing data from the PHNAT, it is evident that the diverse population in Fairfax County is more susceptible to poor health outcomes, including a higher prevalence of mental health problems, a high rate of alcohol, drug, and opioid abuse, and a high prevalence of obesity and overweight nurses. In addition, diverse populations in Fairfax County, such as Hispanics and African-Americans, are also more likely to come from low-income families and be uninsured (CDC, 2018). This makes it difficult for such a population to acquire preventative health care services.

The drawing up of healthcare promotion initiatives that target diverse communities in Fairfax County can therefore help to significantly address the main healthcare needs of the community. The improvement strategies targeting the main health care needs of the population in Fairfax County would be based on healthy people 2020 goals of access to healthcare services, education and community-based programs, mental health and mental disorders, and nutrition and weight status(CDC, 2016). To address the health care needs related to obesity and overweight affecting the population in Fairfax County and mostly Hispanics and African-Americans, the healthy people 2020 goal of nutrition and weight status would therefore be followed. Health promotion initiatives targeted at affected populations educate them on the importance of a healthy diet and physical activities in mitigating obesity and overweight can therefore be conducted. The health promotion activities would include public health announcements in different media such as traditional and social media (McCollum et al., 2017). Therefore, the effectiveness of the health promotion and education activities would be evaluated by measuring the prevalence of obesity and overweight in Fairfax County. A reduction in the prevalence of obesity and overweight would indicate that the health promotion activities are effective.

On the other hand, to address the health challenges of mental health and mental health disorders which is prevalent in Fairfax County, the setting up of mental health centers would be sufficient. The mental health centers would have all the necessary professionals and facilities to promote mental health (McCollum et al., 2017). A reduction in the prevalence of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and stress indicates that’s the setting up of mental health centers is effective in addressing the mental health challenges in Fairfax County. Finally, the setting up of community rehabilitation centers plays a significant role in helping address the health challenge of alcohol, drug, and opioid abuse in Fairfax County. The community rehabilitation centers will therefore be accessible to individuals across the community and encourage them to seek help for their drug abuse and addiction health challenges (McCollum et al., 2017). A reduction in the prevalence of drug, alcohol, and opioid abuse in Fairfax County will therefore be the main evaluation strategy to determine the effectiveness of the community rehabilitation centers.

Conclusion

In summary, the PHNATI is an effective tool that can help in the assessment and identification of public health needs of different communities and populations. The PHNAT assesses the different elements of the health of the community members, including their general health status, their well-being and health-related quality of life, determinants of health in the area, and the different policies and laws which affect the health of the population. Considering the general health status and the social determinants of the health of the population in Fairfax County from the data of the PHNAT, the diverse community health issues include mental health problems, alcohol, drug, and opioid abuse, and obesity. Health promotion and education programs, the setting up of mental health centers, and the establishment of community rehabilitation centers can therefore play a significant role in addressing the main health challenges of the community in Fairfax County.

References

CDC. (2016, November 6). Healthy People – HP2020 – Topic Areas. Cdc.Gov. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/healthy_people/hp2020/hp2020_topic_areas.htm

CDC. (2018, April 9). Stats of the State of Virginia. Cdc.Gov. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/virginia/virginia.htm

McCollum, M., Kovner, C. T., Ojemeni, M. T., Brewer, C., & Cohen, S. (2017). Nurses Improve Their Communities’ Health Where They Live, Learn, Work, and Play. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 18(1), 7–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527154417698142

Truglio-Londrigan, M., & Lewenson, S. B. (2017). Public Health Nursing: Practicing Population-Based Care (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

US Census Bureau. (2020, August). QuickFacts Fairfax County, Virginia; United States. Census.Gov. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/fairfaxcountyvirginia,US/PST045219