Epidemiological surveillance and the Community Health Nurse

BY Frank Ejechi RN
Epidemiological surveillance is one of the methods in which the public health nurse use in collecting, recording, analyzing and dissemination of data or information on the current health status of a community. In the beginning, the public health nurse uses the epidemiological surveillance in monitoring and intervening in areas of infectious diseases. But now, the success of the methods has made it possible for the community health nurse to apply the same methods in observing and monitoring chronic diseases, premature death, injuries, environmental factors and other social factors that influence a community health needs.

Epidemiological surveillance can occur in three ways. The first is the passive surveillance which can occur when information is obtained without actively searching for the information. For example, if a school nurse is teaching a student proper hand washing, and he comes across bruises that indicates abuses. He is mandatorily required to report the case. Secondly, active surveillance occurs when a public health nurse is actively looking for information why a particular community has lots of in his students with a particular infectious disease, example, tuberculosis or a particular community is filled with childhood criminal activities. Thirdly, surveillance can occur through reporting of a particular disease by selected individual or institutions.

The benefits of epidemiological surveillance are creating a data base of a particular infectious disease, and the group of individuals that at mostly at risks. This will include identifying the causes, the extent of the spread, and plan for intervention. It also serves as a blue print if such problem should occur in another community, and it is way of reducing duplication of efforts by different agencies. Through it, the public nurse can itemize intervention based on priorities, it also helps in evaluation outcomes, and spreading information on how to prevent or intervene when there is an outbreak of diseases.

References

Encyclopedia of Public Health. (2011). Epidemiologic Surveillance. Retrieved on August 5, 2011, from http://www.enotes.com/public-health-encyclopedia/epidemiologic-surveillance

NOTE: This blog post reflects the work of a Registered Nurse with minor editing by Shirley Comer RN and was completed as a class assignment. The content of this blog is for informational purposes only. Before beginning or changing a treatment or lifestyle regime you should consult your primary health care provider.

Ensuring a Safe Food Supply

BY Rene Foster-McFarlan RN

The safety of the nations food supply may be in jeopardy if proposed budget cuts are enacted. Last week Cargill was forced to recall 36 million pounds of ground turkey from a plant in Arkansas due to a Salmonella outbreak. The recall is the third largest recall in our nations history and is already linked to one death and 55,000 reported cases of Salmonella. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for ensuring that the U.S. meat, poultry and egg supply is safe for consumers. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the public health agency in the USDA that takes on the task of food inspections and in spite of the recent recall will face certain budget cuts that could hamper their ability to quickly respond to outbreaks of food-borne diseases. The recent debt debate while highly politicized does not focus enough attention on the threat that our food supply could face if the proposed cuts take place. The latest recall by Cargill is a clear indication that more attention needs to be given to the role this agency plays in preventing the spread of food-borne infections. Since 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln founded the Bureau of Chemistry, the early precursor of the FSIS, the threat of contamination and the spread of disease have been reduced due to the efforts of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Committee. The Daily Times reported the "recent Salmonella outbreak was discovered after five months of investigations by federal food inspectors". Investigating and tracking the source of food-borne illnesses is complicated and requires sometimes hundreds of inspectors, scientist, and public health officials to prevent widespread infections. Reducing the number of food inspectors could have a devastating effect on the amount of time needed to track the source of infection and will only lengthen the rate of response times. More attention is needed to this vital public health department and we must all work to ensure that when program cuts are made that they do not place the health of the nation at risk.

References:

The United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, About FSIS., 2011. retrieved from http://www.fsis.usda.gov/About_FSIS/Agency_History/index.asp

NOTE: This blog post reflects the work of a Registered Nurse with minor editing by Shirley Comer RN and was completed as a class assignment. The content of this blog is for informational purposes only. Before beginning or changing a treatment or lifestyle regime you should consult your primary health care provider.

The Role of the Public Health Nurse- Primary Prevention

BY Blair Gifford RN

An important aspect of public health nursing is education and prevention. There are three levels of prevention primary, secondary, and tertiary. This post focuses on primary prevention. Primary prevention aims to prevent certain diseases from occurring (Stanhope and Lancaster, 2008). This type of prevention includes educating populations who are at risk for certain illnesses on lifestyle changes they can do to prevent these diseases (Stanhope and Lancaster, 2008). Primary preventions can only occur before the person has the disease and not after they have already been diagnosed. Primary prevention can include things such as educating an African-American male about lifestyle changes he can make to reduce his risk of developing hypertension, such as eating a healthy diet low in salt and cholesterol, daily exercise, limiting stress, eliminating smoking and alcohol use. There are non-modifiable risk factors that this patient would not be able to control, however if he is aware of the modifiable risk factors and can eliminate them he may reduce his risk of hypertension. Another example of primary prevention includes immunizations, which can prevent certain diseases (Stanhope and Lancaster, 2008). The community needs to be aware of what diseases there are immunizations for and when they should receive them. Education is a very large part of primary prevention. Providing people with the tools to protect themselves make them able to reduce the risk of getting certain diseases. Taking daily supplements such as vitamin C or a multivitamin to prevent illness is another example of primary prevention. The most important emphasis a nurse can place when it comes to primary prevention is on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and taking the necessary precautions to protect yourself from illness. Public health nurses have the tools to educate the community about what they can do to decrease their risk of illness and primary prevention is the most efficient way to decrease illness and disease in the community.

Reference
Stanhope, M. & Lancaster, J. (2008). Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community. St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Inc.

NOTE: This blog post reflects the work of a Registered Nurse with minor editing by Shirley Comer RN and was completed as a class assignment. The content of this blog is for informational purposes only. Before beginning or changing a treatment or lifestyle regime you should consult your primary health care provider.

The Role of the School Nurse

BY Erin Gifford RN
School nursing has been in effect since the 1800s in England (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). In the early 1900s, school nursing was in full effect in the United States to assess school aged children for the spread of infectious diseases (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). In today's world, school nurses hold a variety of roles. The school nurse is responsible for the direct care of school aged children during the hours of school. This entails assessing injured children, providing care to ailing children, or administering medications to children with disease processes such as diabetes mellitus. Nurses can also be employed in a boarding school setting, where they are responsible for the care of children 24/7 (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). The school nurse is also responsible for education. The school nurse educates students on a wide array of subjects ranging from hand washing to safe sex. The school nurse also functions as a case manager. For example, school nurses help to arrange health care for children with many comorbidities or complex health issues (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). The school nurse also acts as a consultant. The school nurse is responsible for providing health information to school administrators, teachers, and parent-teacher groups (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). The school nurse also acts as a counselor to troubled youths, or just students with health concerns. Nursing is viewed as a trustworthy occupation. School nurses also participate in community outreach. This entails community health fairs or festivals, immunization programs, health education fairs, blood pressure screenings, or local charities to promote education (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). The school nurse must also function as a researcher to ensure that the care she is providing to the students is evidence based. As you can see, clearly school nurses function in a wide array of roles, and are a very important asset to the community.

References
Stanhope, M. & Lancaster, J. (2008). Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community. St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Inc.

NOTE: This blog post reflects the work of a Registered Nurse with minor editing by Shirley Comer RN and was completed as a class assignment. The content of this blog is for informational purposes only. Before beginning or changing a treatment or lifestyle regime you should consult your primary health care provider.

Economics and Healthcare

BY Tiffany Thomas RN

There are many factors that are influencing healthcare costs, including demographics, technology, and chronic illness. To begin with, a major demographic change includes the aging population. The majority of older adults receive Medicaid and Medicare. As the population continues to age the more money the government spends on healthcare. As a result, the government is having difficulty compensating for the healthcare needs of the growing aging population. Therefore, the government is changing the way in which they are reimbursing hospitals. For example, starting in 2013 a portion of hospitals’ DRG reimbursement will be based on patient satisfaction. In addition, technology also increase healthcare cost. For example, electronic charting cost much more than paper charting. Electronic charting requires more equipment, training, and staff. Last but not least, chronic medical conditions increase healthcare cost. Chronic disease accounted for 75% of total health care spending in 2003 (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). Thus, demographics, technology, chronic illness and many other factors are influencing the rise in healthcare cost. Not to mention, the uninsured people that hospitals has to treat without receiving any payment.

Stanhope, M, & Lancaster, J. (2008). Public health nursing, population-centered health care in the community. St.Louis, Missouri: Mosby Inc., an affiliate of Elsevier Inc.

Saver, Cynthia. (2011). HCAHPS: How the OR’s scores affect your whole organization. OR Manager, 27(4), 1-5.

NOTE: This blog post reflects the work of a Registered Nurse with minor editing by Shirley Comer RN and was completed as a class assignment. The content of this blog is for informational purposes only. Before beginning or changing a treatment or lifestyle regime you should consult your primary health care provider.