Community Health Paper

NURS 472- Community Health Nursing II

Purpose of Assignment
The purpose of this community health paper was to assess the health issue related to our
selected aggregate and use the nursing process to diagnosis, plan and implement interventions, as
well as evaluating these interventions to recommend changes for future research and education.

Student Approach to Assignment

Our selected aggregate our first semester was the Old Dominion University student
community then the second semester expanded to include Tidewater Community College,
Norfolk State University, Thomas Nelson Community College, Hampton University, Norfolk
Drug Court, and the elderly population at the Art of Healthy Aging Convention. Our assessment
of these communities were through a survey and we discovered that they needed more education
on disaster preparedness. Our group then diagnosed the aggregate with ineffective coping,
knowledge deficit, anxiety/ fear, and risk for injury based on the assessment. Our ultimate goal
of the intervention is to create awareness and provide relevant information that can be utilized
for our aggregate to establish an emergency plan individualized to their needs. The interventions
implemented included health promotion teachings on disaster kits, evacuation routes, and plans,
as well as creation of a website that provided data and information in regards to how to be
prepared in emergency situations. We then evaluated our interventions with a post survey and
concluded that our interventions did help improve our aggregates knowledge base of disaster
preparedness.

Reason for Inclusion of the Assignment in the Portfolio

This assignment is included in the portfolio because it demonstrates integration of a wide variety
of end of program behaviors.

Critical Thinking
Engages in creative problem solving
Example: Considering our aggregate consisted of a vast amount of people, it was
necessary to engage in creative problem solving techniques to reach out to the diverse
populations and deliver accurate information equally. This included the creation of
our website, which was unique for individuals living in the Hampton roads area. The
website included social media such as Twitter, increase mobile capabilities,
emphasize violence-related emergencies, and included links to Ready Virginia and
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and provide advice for mobility-
impaired or disabled students during emergencies.

Nursing Practice
Performs therapeutic interventions that incorporate principles of quality management
and proper safety techniques based upon assessment findings.
 Example: In the paper, I discussed these interventions such as educating the diverse
populations through health promotion teaching sessions. These teachings included
quality management and proper safety techniques in regards to disaster preparation.
For example, evacuation routes, safety alerts to sign up for in the area, and what items
to store in the evacuation kits.

Communication
Expresses oneself and communicates effectively with diverse groups and disciplines using
a variety of media in a variety of contexts.
Example: In order to communicate effectively with the large population, we used
email and a website to express oneself and communicate. This website included
information on emergency kits, alerts to follow, and resources available in the local
area. It was created through a free application and viewed as a prototype by
professionals. Our post surveys was also a way to communicate the effectiveness of
our teachings and website in a different context.

Teaching
Provides relevant and sensitive health education information and counseling to patients,
and families, in a variety of situations and settings.
Example: All of the information was relevant, accurate, and sensitive that was given
in a variety of situations and settings. For example, some teaching took place at the
Norfolk drug court while others took place with the older populations at an Arts of
Aging Convention. The information was also specific to them. For example, at drug
court we provided information on public transportation routes as many did not have a
car; meanwhile at the Arts of Aging convention we provided information about
keeping up to date of medications and how to store them in case of an emergency.

Evaluates the efficacy of health promotion and education modalities for use in a variety
of settings with diverse populations.
Example: In the paper, we discussed evaluating the efficacy of health promotion and
education. We use a post survey on our website that could be easily accessible and
used in a variety of settings for the diverse populations we cared for. Our goal was
partially met, as many individuals reported that they created an emergency
preparation kit, signed up for emergency alerts, and learned evacuation routes while a
small percentage reported they did not.
 Research
Applies research based knowledge from the arts, humanities and sciences to complement
nursing practice.
Example: The research based knowledge from the arts, humanities and sciences
came from two separate nursing researchers that found recently that many nurses
and nursing students do not feel adequately prepared to respond to mass casualty
events resulting from accidents, acts of mass violence, or natural disasters. We
used this research to complement nursing practice by establishing a firm
foundation for our interventions by improving nursing education and improving
our communitys health.

Shares research findings with colleagues

Example: In this paper, it was necessary to share all research findings with the
group and our professor to coordinate a plan of care for the diverse population. In
the initial survey, this research helped us throughout the nursing process to
formulate nursing diagnoses, plan outcomes, implement our intervention, and
then evaluate them.

Leadership
Initiates community partnerships to establish health promotion goals and implements
strategies to meet those goals.
Example: In order to teach accurate information, my team and I initiated community
partnerships with Linda Botts, a volunteer of Virginia Health System and Mr. Jared
Hoernig, Associate Director of Emergency Management at ODU. With these
individuals we discussed ways to instill disaster preparation into the community. We
conversed and discovered ways to engage students, which included educating them in
a popular and convenient location, providing them with basic knowledge that does
not require a great deal of time, and supplying free items as an incentive for attending
and contributing.

Organizes, manages, and evaluates the development of strategies to promote healthy

communities.
Example: In the paper, we discussed how we organized and managed the
development of strategies to promote healthy communities. We needed to organize,
set up educational poster boards, and coordinate dates and times with the drug court,
freshman previews, and arts of aging convention in order to perform the teachings
and then evaluate effectiveness.
 Professionalism
Advocates for professional standards of practice using organizational and political
processes.
Example: The professional standards of practice were advocated for whenever
submitting clinical logs. In these logs it discussed the organizational and political
processes used during the community health clinical and during our time with our
aggregate.

Culture
Considers the impact of research outcomes and, the effects of health and social policies,
on persons for diverse backgrounds.
Example: After performing our research, we considered that best and most effective
routes to deliver the information and how it would effect the health and social polices
of different people. The impact of research outcomes and the effects of health and
social polices on persons for diverse background were considered whenever we
discussed alternatives forms of transportation or variety of items that may be held in
the emergency packs. We discovered many people learn best visually and in a format
that easily accessible to look back at on technological devices.

Maintains awareness of global environmental factors that may influence the delivery of
health care services.
Example: It was important to remember that external factors that may influence the
delivery of services. For example, in case of hurricane or other natural disasters it was
important to educate persons of alert services that would be reliable and ensure safety
to deliver the health services needed.