Essay Sample on Promoting Health & Reducing Risk: Basics of Community/Public Health

Community/ public health focuses on the provision of promotion, preventive, and even curative care services to individuals or group of individuals. Various concepts are applicable in the field of community/public health. Some of the basic concepts applicable in this field include health promotion, health protection, risks, risk assessment, as well as risk reduction. Community/ public health is aligned with healthy people 2020 which is a national health initiative focusing on health promotion through challenging individuals, communities and even professions to adopt living styles which leads to a long healthy life (Nies & McEwen, 2018).

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Both hospital-based and public/community-based nursing services are geared towards ensuring the health of either an individual or group of individuals. Therefore, advocating health for all are core functions in both areas. However, the target population and the essential services offered to differ. Health promotion and preventive policies are the primary essential services provided through community/ public health nurse. On the other side, hospital-based services mostly offer curative services essentially. While community/public health care providers attend to either individuals, families, community, or cohorts, most of the hospital-based services are individualized. According to McEwen & Nies, (2018), the core function of community /public health is to reduce the risks of contracting diseases as well as the creation of awareness of individuals on health matters while hospital-based services deal with intervening in illnesses before they progress. This is why essential equipment and instruments to offer diagnostic tests and curative services such as injections occur in a hospital setting. For individuals with progressed illnesses in need of palliative care mostly benefit from community health services, especially home-based care.

In the course of my practice, I can conclude that services provided in public/community health field are broad than hospital-based nursing services. Hospital-based services focus more on curative services as compared to preventive and promotive health care services. On the other side, community/ public health care services are kore into promotive and preventive care services such as lifestyle modification in terms of healthy eating and active participation in physical activities.

References

McEwen, M., & Nies, M. A. (2018). UNIT 1 Introduction to Community Health Nursing. Community/Public Health Nursing-E-Book: Promoting the Health of Populations, 1. Retrieved from: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=5x5tDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=community/public+health+by+mary+A.+Nies+and+Melanie+MCEwen+2018&ots=JnB6SrNVYS&sig=wSqws-Nd4ia3cWDw05EKS1itwRw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=community%2Fpublic%20health%20by%20mary%20A.%20Nies%20and%20Melanie%20MCEwen%202018&f=false

Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2018). Community/Public Health Nursing-E-Book: Promoting the Health of Populations. Elsevier Health Sciences. Retrieved from: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=5x5tDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=community/public+health+by+mary+A.+Nies+and+Melanie+MCEwen+2018&ots=JnB6SrNVYS&sig=YdA_RlRG59iyQ6cMC53BnPPSuuA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=community%2Fpublic%20health%20by%20mary%20A.%20Nies%20and%20Melanie%20MCEwen%202018&f=false