Evolving public health nursing roles: focus on community participatory health promotion and prevention.
Public health nursing (PHN) practice is population-focused and requires unique knowledge, competencies, and skills. Early public health nursing roles extended beyond sick care to encompass advocacy, community organizing, health education, and political and social reform. Likewise, contemporary public health nurses practice in collaboration with agencies and community members. The purpose of this article is to examine evolving PHN roles that address complex, multi-causal, community problems. A brief background and history of this role introduces an explanation of the community participation health promotion model. A community-based participatory research project, Youth Substance Use Prevention in a Rural County provides an exemplar for description of evolving PHN roles focused on community health promotion and prevention. Also included is discussion about specific competencies for PHNs in community participatory health promoting roles and the contemporary PHN role.
Nursing and Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, USA. pk6c@virginia.edu
Pamela A
PA
Kulbok
Esther
E
Thatcher
Eunhee
E
Park
Peggy
P
Meszaros
D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D019058:Community Networks / Q000639:trends*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D016294:Models, Nursing; D024802:Nurse's Role; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000639:trends*; D011637:Public Health Nursing / Q000639:trends*; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000639:trends*