Good Afternoon!

Mark Michael J. Cuevas, SN ‘08

Community Health Nursing
Ruth B. Freeman
• Communities
• Groups
• Families
• Individuals at home
• Health centers
• Clinics
• Schools
• Places of work
 Community Health Nursing
Jacobson
• NURSING PRACTICE
• wide variety of
community services
and consumer
advocate areas,
• a variety of roles, at
times including
independent practice
 Community Health Nursing
American Nurses Association
• PRACTICE
• Promotion and preservation of health
• Practice is comprehensive and general
• Continual
Principles of Community Health
Nursing

• It is based on recognized needs of

COMMUNITIES, FAMILIES, GROUPS and
INDIVIDUALS
• The CH Nurse must understand fully the objectives
and policies of the agency she represents
Principles of Community Health
Nursing

• In CHN, the FAMILY is the unit of

service
• CHN must be AVAILABLE TO ALL
regardless of race, creed and socio-
economic status
• HEALTH TEACHING is a primary
responsibility of the CH Nurse
Principles of Community Health
Nursing

• The CH Nurse works as a MEMBER OF THE

HEALTH TEAM

• There must be provision for periodic evaluation

of CHN services
Principles of Community Health
Nursing

• The CH Nurse also has a responsibility for his

/ her own PROFESSIONAL GROWTH
• The CH Nurse makes use of AVAILABLE
community health resources
Principles of Community Health
Nursing

• The CH Nurse utilizes the ALREADY

EXISTING ACTIVE ORGANIZED
GROUPS in the community
• There must be provision for educative
supervision in CHN
• There should be accurate recording and
reporting in CHN
 Clients of the Community
Health Nurse

• Individual
• Family
• Subgroup
• Community
 Community

• A group of people

– sharing common geographic

boundaries and / or common values
and interests
 Characteristics of a Healthy
Community

•Awareness that ‘we are community’

•Conservation of natural resources
•Recognition of, and respect for, the
existence of subgroups
•Participation of subgroups in community
affairs
•Preparation to meet crises
•Ability to problem-solve
•Communication through open
channels
•Resources available to all
•Setting of disputes through legitimate
mechanisms
•Participation by citizens in decision
making
•Wellness of a high degree among its
members
 Public Health

• The art of applying science in the context of politics so

as to reduce inequalities in health while ensuring the
best health for the greatest number
 Public Health

• Refers to the practice of nursing in national and

local government health departments (which
includes health centers and rural health units),
and public schools
 Public Health

• SCIENCE AND ART OF :

• PREVENTING disease
• PROLONGING life
• PROMOTING health and
efficiency
Through organized community effort
for:

–sanitation of the environment

–control of communicable diseases
–education of individuals in
personal hygiene
– organization of medical and nursing
services
– the development of the social
machinery
 Essential Public Health
Functions
– Health situation
monitoring and analysis
– Epidemiological
surveillance / disease
prevention and control
– Development of
policies and planning in
public health
 Essential Public Health
Functions
– Strategic management of
health systems and services
for population health gain
– Regulation and enforcement
to protect public health
– Human resources
development and planning in
public health
Essential Public Health
Functions
– Health promotion, social
participation and
empowerment
– Ensuring the quality of
personal and population
based health services
– Research, development
and implementation of
innovative public health
solutions
 Public Health Nursing
• Special field of nursing that
combines
• skills of nursing
• public health
• some phases of social assistance and
functions
• as part of the total public health
programme
• for the promotion
of health
• the improvement
of the conditions in
the social and
physical
environment
• rehabilitation of
illness and disability
 Public Health Nurses

• Nurses
• local / national health departments or
public schools
• whether their official position title is
Public Health Nurse or school nurse
Qualifications and Functions

• Management Function
• Supervisory Function
• Nursing Care Function
• Collaborating and Coordinating Function
Qualifications and Functions

• Health Promotion and Education

Function
• Training Function
• Research Function
 History of Public Health
Nursing
• PHN started in 1912 when the Bureau of Health
employed 4 graduate nurses from the Philippine
General Hospital School of Nursing. They were
assigned in Cebu and engaged purely on
maternal and child nursing
• PHN inaugurated its pioneer work in Tondo,
Manila in 1919 when a visiting nurse Ms.
Balbina Basa made a house to house visit,
hold a clinic and dispensary work with special
emphasis on maternal care. At that time,
problem on these areas posed a serious
problem. As a remedy, Red Cross introduced
the operation on puericulture centers in the
crowded districts of Manila which was later on
extended to the provinces
• There were 2 groups of nurses, one group was
engaged in puericulture centers and were known
as health center nurses while the other group
assigned in 3 towns were called district nurses.
Later, they were merged and became known as
Public Health Nurses
• In 1933, 175 nurses performed maternal
and child health work in Manila and
provinces.
• The Commonwealth Government
appropriated fund for 215 positions for
public health nurse in 1935 which include
26 positions for nurse supervisors. This
was done to intensify campaign against
the high infant mortality rates
• Puericulture centers were under the
supervision of the Office of the Public Welfare
Commission until the Reorganization Act of
1933 took effect placing them under the
Bureau of Health. Mrs. Soledad Buenafe
became the assistant chief nurse of the
Section of Nursing
• The Section of Nursing was transferred to the
Division of Maternal and Child Hygiene and later
became the Section of Public Health Nursing in
1935 in when Mrs. Buenafe became the chief
• The Department of Health and Welfare was
created in 1940 where 6 of the public health nurses
of the Bureau of Health were transferred in 1941.
This formed the nucleus of the present Division of
Nursing of Manila Health Department
• Public Health Nurses wore a beige uniform
which later are replaced by the blue and
white stripes due to scarcity of materials.
October 1, 1941, PHN donned a nurse’s cap
but was discontinued upon recommendation of
Mrs. Buenafe. She also created the Division of
Nursing to replace the Section of Nursing of
the Bureau of Health
• During the WWII on December 8, 1941, twelve
emergency units were organized, one of them
was sent to Bataan
• 31 nurses who were taken prisoners of war
by the Japanese army and confined at the
Bilibid Prison in Manila were released on July
22, 1942
• During early liberation period of 1945, many of
the public health nurses found jobs in the US
Army Hospitals and Manila Health
Department which was managed by the US
Army
• The PHN service in the DOH received a big
boost in 1953 with the creation of 81 Rural
Health Units which was made possible
through bilateral agreement between US and
Philippine Government which paved the way
for progressive PHN especially in the rural
areas
• On May 18, 1954, the Philippine Congress
passed and approved Republic Act No.
1082, known as the Rural Health Unit
Act which was implemented in July of the
same year.
• In June 1957, Republic Act No. 1891
“An Act to Amend Sections 2, 3, 4, 7
and 8” of RA No. 1082 entitled “An Act
Strengthening Health and Dental
Services in Rural Areas and Providing
funds” therefore was approved
• RA No. 1891 created 8 categories of rural
health units corresponding to 8 population
groups to be served
• In 1975, 2,000 midwives were recruited
and trained to serve in the rural areas. The
aim was for the ratio of one Rural Health
Midwife per 5,000 population
• Executive Order No. 119 reorganized the
DOH and created several offices and
services within the DOH
• Between 1990-1992 the Local
Government Code of 1991 RA 7160
was passed and implemented.

• In May 24, 1999, EO 102 “Redirecting

the Functions and Operations of
the DOH” was signed by President
Joseph E. Estrada