•As a BSN-prepared community health nurse, what steps should Debbie take next?

An Epidemic in the Community

To prepare for this Discussion, visit the CDC Wonder site in this week’s resources. Investigate the incidence and prevalence of TB in your community. What information did you find? Analyze how your community compares to county, state, or national data for the same topic. Was the incidence and prevalence of each higher or lower than you expected?

Consider the following scenario: This is Debbie’s first year working as a nurse at the local health department in a rural county. Most of her days are spent in the clinic seeing clients who often do not have health insurance.

Over the past month, Debbie has noticed that several young Hispanic men have come to the health department, each diagnosed with tuberculosis. Debbie is concerned about what the outbreak of tuberculosis among the migrant workers could mean for the community. Through a community health profile, Debbie identifies the group of migrant farm workers as being at highest risk for contracting tuberculosis.

Using the Epidemiologic Triangle concept, consider the relationship among causal agents, susceptible persons, and environmental factors. Then, respond to the following:

• As a BSN-prepared community health nurse, what steps should Debbie take next?
• Considering economic and social considerations within the community, what are the primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions that Debbie might use in managing this outbreak?
• Can similar interventions be applied to your community and its TB prevalence?
• What considerations need to be addressed within your community that are different form Debbie’s community?