Community Health Nursing II (Population Groups and

Community as Clients)

Module #1 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Lesson Title: COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING Materials:

Learning Targets: Pen, paper, index card, book, and class List
At the end of the module, students will be able to:
1. Discuss the principles of community health nursing;
2. Describe a healthy community; and, References:
3. Classify different types of community.
Famorca, Z., Nies, M., McEwen, M. (2013).
Nursing Care of the Community. Singapore:
Elsevier
Other References:

Cuevas, F. P., (2007). Public Health Nursing

in the Philippines (10th edition). Manila,
Philippines.
De Belen, R. & De Belen, D. V., (2008). A
Praxis in Community Health Nursing. 1672
Quezon Avenue South Triangle, Quezon City.

Maglaya, A., (2004). Nursing Practice in the

Community (4th edition). Philippines

A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW

Your classroom instructor for this subject, Community Health Nursing II - Lecture, is ________________________.
Listed below are the additional information vital in orientation:

B. MAIN LESSON

⎯ The community health nurse’s aim is to improve the health status of the community in general. Just as in other fields
of nursing practice, care of the community is undertaken utilizing the nursing process in a cyclical process of
assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation.
⎯ To the nurse, the community is not just the setting or the context for providing community health nursing. It is the
focus of nursing care. To the community health nurse, understanding the meaning of community is requisite
⎯ To synthesize the definition in an earlier chapter, a community is a group of people who:
✓ Have a common interest or characteristics
✓ Interact with one another
✓ Have a sense of unity or belonging
✓ Function collectively within a defined social structure to address common concerns
⎯ A community may be phenomenological (functional) or geopolitical (territorial). A school is phenomenological,
whereas a barangay is geopolitical, with the latter being locality-based and having a geographic boundary.

PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY

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 Community Health Nursing II (Population Groups and
Community as Clients)

Module #1 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

1. Focus on the community as the unit of care.

⎯ The nurses’ responsibility is to the community as a whole.

2. Give priority to community needs.

⎯ The community health nurse has to “marry” skills in the nursing process with population- focused skills to produce
the greatest benefit for the majority of the community. The nurse uses assessment tools such as demographics
and vital statistics to determine the health needs of the community as whole.

3. Promote a healthful physical and psychosocial environment.

⎯ The health team designs strategies to concentrate on the environmental determinants of health such as
education, socioeconomic status, physical environment, working conditions, and social support networks.

4. Focus on primary intervention.

⎯ In selecting appropriate activities, focus on primary prevention. Emphasis is given on strategies to promote
optimal health and prevent disease and disability. Treatment is a necessary component of programs that control
prevalent communicable diseases, but treatment is by itself a measure to control the spread of the disease to
others. This is termed preventive treatment of disease.

5. Work with the community as an equal partner of the health team.

⎯ Team approach is most evident in community health work, and, frequently, the nurse serves as the liaison officer
of the health team. It is important to note that the community itself is a member of the health team. It is important
to note that the community itself is a member of the health team. An organized community plays an important role
in this process. Partnership between health workers and the community from assessment to evaluation is more
likely to produce effective and sustainable results. As in family health care, the principle of mutuality is also
applied in community health care.

6. Reach out to all who may benefit from a specific service.

⎯ The community health nurse realizes that members of the community who need particular service are the least
likely to actively seek for appropriate help. For this reason, the health team does not wait for people to come to
the health facility but goes on active case- finding and outreach activities.

7. Promote optimum use of resources.

⎯ Limited health resources are best used for strategies that will produce long-term effects, taking ethical principles
into consideration. Results are studies on best practices in community health should be disseminated and utilized
where applicable.

8. Collaborate with others working in the community.

⎯ Health is a product of multiple determinants. For this reason, the nurse has to work with a variety of sectors,
including the community itself, in resolving issues that affect health. To produce the greatest benefit, community
health efforts have the to be coordinated among the members of the health team but also with other disciplines,
like teachers, social workers, finance, and marketing experts, involved in community development.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A HEALTHY COMMUNITY

A healthy organism has all its body parts contributing to the well-being by carrying out their specific functions. In the same
manner, all systems of a community need to function effectively and work together to maintain the health of the
community. A healthy community has mechanisms that assure all citizens a decent way of life
in all aspects. Certain observable traits allow health workers to ascertain whether an individual or a family is healthy. A
community, likewise, may be observed for evidence traits that indicate its health.
1. A shared sense of being a community based on history and values. Despite the presence of subgroups, members of
the community have a feeling of belonging and that they make up one community. Recognition and respect for these
subgroups make this possible.
2. A general feeling of empowerment and control over matters that affect the community as a whole.

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 Community Health Nursing II (Population Groups and
Community as Clients)

Module #1 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

3. Existing structures that allow subgroups within the community to participate in decision making in community matters.
4. The ability to cope with change, solve problems and manage conflicts within the community through acceptable
means.
5. Open channels of communication and cooperation among members of the community.
6. Equitable and efficient
7. Use of community resources with the view towards sustaining resources.

⎯ A healthy community is, in fact, the context of health promotion defined in the Ottawa Charter (WHO, 1986) as “the
process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health.” Further, the Charter states, “To
reach a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, an individual or group must be able to identify and to
realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment.” Health is, therefore, seen as a
resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal
resources, as well as physical capacities. Therefore, health promotion is not just the responsibility of the health sector
but goes beyond healthy life-styles to well-being.”
⎯ A healthy city is one that is continually creating and improving those physical and social environments and expanding
those community resources that enable people to mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life
and developing to their maximum potential. It aims to (1) achieve a good quality of life, (2) create a health-supportive
environment, (3) provide basic sanitation and hygiene needs, and (4) supply access to health care.
⎯ Being a healthy city does not depend on existing structures, but a commitment to improve the city environment and
create the necessary networks for health. The Philippines is a member nation of the WHO Western Pacific Region,
which has advocated for the Healthy Cities and Healthy Islands movement, especially because of rapic economic,
environmental, and social changes.
⎯ Health is affected by many factors that cannot be controlled by individuals all by themselves. Effectively functioning
systems within the community go a long way toward health promotion, disease prevention, and access to resources
needed for health. Knowing that a healthy community is essential to health promotion gives the community health
nurses further motivation in their work.

CLASSIFICATION OF COMMUNITY
1. Urban
• High density, a socially homogenous population and a complex structure, non-agricultural occupation; something
different from an area characterized by complex interpersonal social relations.
2. Rural
• Usually small and the occupation of the people is usually farming, fishing and food gathering. It is peopled by
simple folks characterized by primary group relation, well- knit and having high degree of group feeling.
3. Rurban
• A combination of a rural and an urban community.

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

You will answer and rationalize this by yourself. This will be recorded as your quiz. One (1) point will be given to correct
answer and another one (1) point for the correct ratio. Superimpositions or erasures in you answer/ratio is not allowed.

1. The PHNs’ responsibility of care is the:

a. Client
b. Family
c. Community
d. All of these
Answer: ________
Rationale:________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. The focus of the PHNs’ activities is:

a. Primary prevention
b. Curative

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 Community Health Nursing II (Population Groups and
Community as Clients)

Module #1 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

c. Rehabilitative
d. all of these
Answer: ________
Rationale:________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
.
3. Greatest benefit requires coordination among:
a. health care disciplines
b. other disciplines
c. community
d. all of these
Answer: ________
Rationale:________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Which of the following describes a rural community?

a. Highly dense in population
b. People are well- knit and having high degree of group feeling
c. Complex interpersonal relationship
d. Non-agricultural occupation
Answer: ________
Rationale:________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. To promote optimum use of resources, the PHN must promote:

a. Best practices that are products of studies.
b. Best practices are the applied by the community.
c. Health practices based on community survey
d. Community health practice that is acceptable.
Answer: ________
Rationale:________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. These are the tools necessary to determine the needs of the community as a whole:
a. Blood pressure apparatus
b. Thermometer
c. Vital statistics
d. Weighing scale
Answer: ________
Rationale:________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. It is a type of community that has high density of people and has both agriculture and manufacturing industry:
a. Rural
b. Urban
c. Rurban
Answer: ________

THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF PHINMA EDUCATION 4

 Community Health Nursing II (Population Groups and
Community as Clients)

Module #1 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Rationale:________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Which among the following describes an urban community? (select all that apply)
a. agricultural occupation
b. complex interpersonal social relations
c. primary group relation
d. not well- knit
Answer: ________
Rationale:________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. A healthy community:
a. have a feeling of superiority
b. recognizes and respects other subgroups
c. feels empowered and control over matters that affect the community as a whole
d. participate in decision making in community matters Choices:
Answer: ________
Rationale:________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. A healthy city is one that: (select all that apply)

a. Maintains the community’s sanitation
b. Supplies health care needs
c. Doles out the need of the people in the community
d. Provides recreational activities for the people
Answer: ________
Rationale:________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

C. LESSON WRAP-UP

AL Activity: CAT: 3-2-1

Instructions:
1. As an exit ticket at the end of the class period
2. Record three things you learned from the lesson.
3. Next, two things that you found interesting and that you’d like to learn more about.
4. Then, record one question you still have about the lesson.

Three things you learned:

1. __________________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________________________

Two things that you’d like to learn more about:

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 Community Health Nursing II (Population Groups and
Community as Clients)

Module #1 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

1. __________________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________________________

One question you still have:

1.___________________________________________________________________________________

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