Community health nursing
Formerly health care has been for those living near enough to a hospital or a doctor in times of need and for those who could spend money for medicines and treatment. The great majority of people stayed in the village when sick and even today many suffer and die without proper help.
Endeavors have been made to meet the health needs of the people by means of primary health centers and sub centers and the training of Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANM) to go out from these centers to the homes of the people. The numbers of ANMs trained were never sufficient and more than half of them after training went to work in hospitals. In fact, their training was given mainly in the hospital environment, with little experience and understanding of health needs of people, families and communities in rural areas.
Many health personnel were serving in the community with a single purpose such as for smallpox vaccination, control of malaria, leprosy and tuberculosis, sanitation and safe water supply, home midwifery, infant care, nutrition, family planning etc. In the present scheme all of these services are taken care of by specially trained Multipurpose Health Workers, male and female.
II.CONCEPTS OF HEALTH, NURSING, COMMUNITY, COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT:
Health
1. Health means well-ness, the opposite of illness.
2. Health is a positive state of well being that is felt physically, mentally, socially and spiritually.
3. Health is a way of life requiring knowledge of body functions and how to keep fit and the will to cultivate healthy habits including diet and exercise.
4. Health is related to a persons self realization, relationships with others and the feeling of giving a worthwhile contribution to the society.
5. Health is an individual responsibility and if a person makes no effort to be healthy, no one can provide him with health.
6. Health is a positive quality of life which helps us to live life to its fullest and serve our fellow men to the best of our ability.
Nursing
Most people think of nursing as caring for the sick or helping the doctor in the care and treatment of patients. It is much more than this. Nursing includes the care a mother gives to her child, also many different caring activities in hospital and in community. Nursing includes preventing illness, disability and death. Nursing responsibility may also include health education, research, training and supervision of health personnel and administration.
Nursing is helping a person with those things he cannot do for himself but are necessary for him to get back his former health and independence.
In nursing we should try to do even more. We should do all we can to help people to live a life that is fully healthy in body, mind and spirit and social relationships.
When nursing an individual we should remember his feelings and beliefs, try to understand his problems, also the needs of his family and of the community
Community
Community means a group of people living in a certain locality such as a village, who have a village, who have common interests. They meet and react with one another. They may have different interests also and not get on well with one another. Some are rich, others poor. Some eat too much, others may go hungry. Some have power and influence and may like to give orders. Others have no power and suffer injustices.
The best kind of community is one in which everyone cares about all the other members of the community. As a health worker, he will be working with the community to help them I solving their problems especially to be healthier in every way.
Community Health
Community health includes in state of health of the members of the community, the problems affecting their health and the health care provided for the community.
In community health work we help people to find out and think about their health problems and what can be done to improve the health of the whole community. Then we work together with the people and others in the health team to plan and carry out he programmes of health care.
Development
Development related to a community means improvement of the quality of life as a whole. A community health programme on its own will not bring results. Community health needs to be closely connected to community development.
III. COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSE
The community health nurse is well qualified, having a degree in nursing or having done a special course in community health nursing following general nursing and midwifery courses. Her functions include the following:
1. She studies the health status of the community and relationship to social and economic conditions.
2. She plans for and promotes a comprehensive health care programme in co-operation with medical officers, other members of the health team and community leaders.
3. She guides, assists and supervises the work of health assistants and health workers.
4. She is above all in educator of health.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
The health worker in her role as a member of the health team needs to:
1. Understand the concept of team work in co-operation and co-ordination.
2. Recognizes her own self worth and that of others in the team and in the community.
3. Know her role and the role of other members of the health team and recognize the importance of each ones contribution.
4. Perform according to her own capabilities and limitations as a member of the team. She should know when to refer to higher authority and understand the channels of communication.
5. Use techniques of co-operating giving and receiving both in relation to the other team members and in relation to the community.
6. Recognize the difference in outcome when all members of the team work together toward common goals and when each works separately to achieve their own goal.
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