NR 443 Week 4 Community Settings and Community Health Nursing Roles

NR 443 Week 4 Community Settings and Community Health Nursing Roles

Home Health Nursing

NR 443 Week 4 Community Settings and Community Health Nursing Roles – “The primary purpose of home health services is to allow individuals to remain at home and receive health care services that would otherwise be offered in a health care institution, such as a hospital setting” (Nies, p. 646).  The home health nurse helps families stay together longer in their own homes. They also teach family members how to take care of their loved ones.  They provide health education and support to those who are transitioning back home from the hospital. Home health nurses receive referrals from providers to take care of patients in many different settings from the elderly, post-natal, critically ill, and those with HIV.  In my community in the south Bronx, NY home health nurses are used in a variety of settings.  We have a lot of agencies around to give home care for the elderly.  We also have the Department of health who sends nurses out to women who have just given birth to assist with caring for the baby and educating the mother on breast feeding. In this paper I will discuss the importance of home health nurse in my community and how they help this population to stay in their homes longer.

NR 443 Week 4 Community Settings and Community Health Nursing Roles

Community Setting

The South Bronx community is populated by mainly minorities (African Americans, Hispanics…etc.).  The population ranges from the working class to the working poor class.   There are many families on public assistance and Medicaid/Medicare.  We do however have many hospitals and clinics around this heavily populated urban city that offer primary, secondary, and tertiary care.  You can find mobile units almost daily driving around offering different types of screenings from glucose to HIV and STD testing.  

Another service offered around the city is home health care.  There are private agencies, chains, Department of Health, and hospital home health services offered by city hospitals.  Since most of the population is on some form of Medicaid/Medicare the hospital home health services from New York City Health and Hospital Corporation.  There are a lot of health issues in the Bronx that benefit from Home care services.  One great service that is offered by the Department of Health is the Nurse-Family partnership that provides home visits for pregnant women who are low-income status.

Essay NR 305 Week 6 Course Project Milestone 2

NR 443 Week 4 Community Settings and Community Health Nursing Roles

The maternal home nurse visits pregnant woman to help them prepare for their new baby by providing health education on prenatal care and helping them connect to resources in their communities like the WIC office for nutrition and childbirth classes.  They visit they women for two years, the first year is through pregnancy and the second is until the child is one year of age. They teach women about breastfeeding for those who are new to it or had difficulty previously trying.   “Parenting help included such examples as advice relating to bathing and feeding, information about child development, education or training in infant settling, help with breastfeeding issues, advice and practical help with housing, and helping out with sick children” (Buggey, p. 199).  

Health Promotion Nursing Intervention

The role of the maternal home health nurse is to provide education and resources to pregnant women up until the child is one year old.  They provide nursing care for up to two years.  The home health nurse comes in and assess the situation, meaning the home life and the mental state of the pregnant woman and the family.  They see what resources need to be implemented.   “Baby development monitoring and support (n = 28), which included checking baby’s weight measurements, immunizations, general health, and developmental milestones for the baby. Twenty, four women said they received support from the nurses, including emotional support such as having someone to talk to and listen to them, having the nurses checking up on them to see if they were alright, emotional support when they were down, depressed or anxious, and reassurance” (Buggey, p. 199).

The nurse gave them reassurance that they would become educated parents with the resources provided for them.   They felt as if they were not alone.  The home health nurse gives guidance on what that patient needs and who the can turn to for support, They also educate the family on how to care for the baby.

NR 443 Week 4 Community Settings and Community Health Nursing Roles

Professional Nursing Organization

“The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs is a national resource, partner, and advocate for state public health leaders and others working to improve the health of women, children, youth and families, including those with special health care needs” (www.amchp.org).  The goal of this organization is to promote optimal health and education to women in their reproductive years.

The ultimate goal is to ensure that woman in low income families receive the same help that women in more affluent homes do.  The home health nurse serves as an advocacy for the pregnant women who may not know the resources available to her as to those with better medical coverage.  The home health nurse is there to break the disparity through health education and promotion. 

NR 443 Week 4 Community Settings and Community Health Nursing Roles

Summary

Maternity home nursing is a very important factor into maternal and fetal demise.  It gives mothers formal health education on both prenatal and antenatal care.  Some women need extra care in order to become better providers for the babies and children they already birth.  Maternal health nurses provide these services starting before birth so that women can get a chance to implement these practices before the child is born.  They also receive services up until the child is one so they can guide them in breastfeeding and baby development habits.

NR 443 Week 4 Community Settings and Community Health Nursing Roles

References

http://www.amchp.org/AboutAMCHP/About/Pages/AMCHPMission.aspx

Buggy, T. (2007, Summer). A Picture Is Worth …. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 9(3), 151-158. Retrieved December 14, 2007, from Academic Search Premier database.

Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2019). Community/Public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders/Elsevier.

NR 443 Week 4 Community Settings and Community Health Nursing Roles