Discussion Question: What community health nursing intervention strategies will best be suited to address your selected health concern? How you will integrate these methods into your project? Your ini
Response 1: 200 words or more required with
In considering the interventions put forth by the Minnesota Department of Health for public health professionals (Minnesota Department of Health, 2019), I find that I have already employed three of them in the development of my project. Should the project have progressed as anticipated prior to the advent of Covid-19 restrictions, I would have been utilizing one more with my originally intended audience. I will be proceeding with the project as if all four were to be implemented as planned.
The first of the interventions that I employed was that of collaboration (Minnesota Department of Health, 2019). I have done so by speaking with multiple individuals working within the local health-care community and the Pierce County Aging and Disability Resource Center. In this, I have been able to incorporate into my education some resources that they are aware of, as well as to further define areas of need that need to be addressed in my research. I’ve also been able to become aware of their concerns for the populations that they serve and will try to address the ones relevant to the education that I will be providing. Perhaps most importantly, I have made them aware of my goals in what I will be doing and have gained their cooperation and buy-in.
The second and third interventions I have utilized are those of outreach and community organization (Minnesota Department of Health, 2019). Thus far, I have had contact with the Spring Valley Senior Citizens Center (prior to their closure) and had established that they were receptive to my education as relevant and welcome to their service demographic. I have also spoken with the local pharmacy and confirmed that the pharmacist/owner of the facility is interested in any printed hand-outs pertaining to transportation services to be distributed to area seniors and their caregivers. In doing so, I have identified the population that I intended to address, found a means of reaching them, and begun to organize methods of doing so with other community members and organizations.
Finally, I continue to prepare for the final intervention of health teaching (Minnesota Department of Health, 2019). While my intended audience is currently unable to be reached via the method I had intended to employ, the preparation of the educational materials and presentation continue apace. It has been conveyed to me by county and pharmacy staff that they are interested in printed materials that I produce for distribution to their clientele. Assuming that the local clinic eventually re-opens, the providers at that location are welcome as well to make use of the information that I gather regarding resources, though they would not be able to distribute them without higher approval from within the Mayo Health System.
References
Minnesota Department of Health (2019). Public health interventions: Applications for public health nursing practice (2nd ed.).
RESPONSE 2: 200 words or more required with reference
The Minnesota Health wheel is the framework to define the interventions for community nurses to follow within their scope of practice. There are many interventions to choose from for nurses caring for people in the community for the patients and their families to reach the goal of improved health within the community (Minnesota Health Department, n.d.).
Several of the intervention strategies could assist me in educating my family on Dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease. I could benefit from using all three of the case finding interventions. Using Surveillance, Disease, and Other Health Event Investigation and Outreach all include gathering data to define the community's needs. Surveillance incorporates the planning, implementing, and evaluation of the interventions for public health. I have already begun the planning and have thought about some of the goals I would like to set for my family. Disease and other health event investigations examine any threats to the community. Examine why there is a threat, who is at risk, and what can improve the threat. I recently learned that my family and some of my friends are oblivious to what to expect with a person who is declining with Dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease. Outreach looks at the community to see what interventions are needed to achieve optimal health or their best quality of life. I will gather more data to present to my family and friends to gain knowledge and understanding of Dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease. I have already utilized several of the interventions. I have also utilized Case Finding to locate a family who would benefit from being educated on Dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease. While being there, Case Manager, I will use Referral and Follow-up to give information on community resources available to them, and I will always try to be available for them for any of their follow-up needs. I will use Health Teaching and Counseling to meet the needs of my friends and family. I have a good feel for the people I am presenting to, making educating them easier because I know how they like to learn already.
I worked in Home Health Care and was shocked about how many of these interventions I practice daily in a normal workday. Since working-home care, I was taught to use these interventions to connect with the patients, ensure their basic needs are met, provide medical assistance and transportation for the public, and many other unspoken interventions. It is interesting to learn where these common interventions originated from that I use in my daily practice.
Minnesota Health Department. (n.d.). Public health interventions (The "Wheel" Manual) - Minnesota Dept. of health. Retrieved from https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/practice/research/phncouncil/wheel.html
