Community Health

NURS 470 Community Health Nursing I

Purpose of Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to involve students in the comprehensive community
needs assessment. Students will develop/utilize tools to identify perceived factors (both negative
and positive) that impinge on the populations health. This information will then be used to
develop and implement strategies for health promotion. An evaluation plan will be included.
Student Approach to Assignment
For this group assignment, we were tasked with assessing the aggregate at Village Pointe,
an affordable retirement home for the elderly. After all assessment data was collected, we came
to the conclusion that readiness for enhanced nutrition was the area to focus our interventions on.
Reason for Inclusion of the Assignment in the Portfolio
This assignment is included because it reflects a project with a community health and
wellness focus. It also displays many of the end-of-program outcomes.
! Critical Thinking
" Revises actions and goals based on evidence rather than just conjecture.
# Example: During the completion of this assignment, the goals suggested were
constantly assessed and revised to ensure evidenced-based interventions would be
implemented for this aggregate. We used surveys and group discussion to gain the
information needed for assessments, which led us to the need for increased
knowledge on nutrition to improve their health status.
! Communication
" Expresses oneself and communicates effectively with diverse groups and disciplines using
a variety of media in a variety of contexts.
# Example: During the completion of this assignment, we expressed our intentions to
the aggregate through open discussions. We utilized surveys to gather the data needed
for assessment.
! Teaching
" Uses information technologies and other appropriate methods to communicate health
promotion, risk reduction, and disease prevention across the life span.
# Example: This assignment addresses the need for health promotion, risk reduction,
and disease prevention in our aggregate and how we intend to provide this education.
We came up with multiple interventions that would utilize teaching sessions to
improve the health of our aggregate, such as healthy snacking and providing recipes
for healthy meals.

" Evaluates the efficacy of health promotion and education modalities for use in a variety
of settings with diverse populations.
# Example: The aggregate involved in this assignment is very diverse; therefore,
evaluation of their specific needs was done through surveys, where we were able to
gauge their education level as well (which helped us know how to provide teaching).
To ensure group involvement and an improvement in health promotion, we assessed
what their health interests were as well what they wanted to gain from the experience.
The most common topics were nutrition tips to manage hypertension, engage in more
physical activity, and pain management.
! Leadership
" Assumes a leadership role within ones scope of practice as a designer, manager, and
coordinator of health care to meet the special needs of vulnerable populations in a
variety of practice settings.
# Example: This assignment required the assumption of a leadership role for each of the
group members, to ensure that the needs of the aggregate were being assessed
adequately. We each played a role in designing surveys to assess the aggregate needs
and all acted as coordinators when presenting information to the aggregate.
" Initiates community partnerships to establish health promotion goals and implements
strategies to meet those goals.
# Example: In this assignment, we initiated a partnership between the aggregate and
students, in which we mutually set goals to improve the health status of the aggregate,
with a focus on nutrition knowledge. As part of the planning process of this
assignment, we discussed strategies for how we would implement interventions to
meet the goals set forth, such as having a dietician speak with the aggregate.
" Organizes, manages, and evaluates the development of strategies to promote healthy
communities.
# Example: This assignment discusses how we organized the development of strategies
to promote the health of our aggregate. We coordinated and managed the meetings to
ensure participation of aggregate in surveys and discussions with weekly activities,
vital signs monitoring, and stretches. By the end of the assessment phase, we were
able to evaluate the strategies/goals set to promote the health of our community.