Community Health Nursing

Case Study

Chapter 9

Nurses are charged to incorporate knowledge of the environment into their nursing

practice. Nurses are essential to improve environmental health through nursing

education, research, and practice. A public health nurse incorporates an “upstream”

focus in the community health position working with the community population. The

community health nurse must consider the precautionary principle in the upstream

focus. The nurse has to consider how the core functions of public health will be

applied.

1. What strategic actions does the community health nurse need to consider as

part of the upstream framework?

2. The community health nurse is using the precautionary principle in the

upstream framework in the community. What is the precautionary principle

and how is it applied to public health and the core functions?

3. The core functions of public health can be applied to public health nursing.