From Theory to Practice: Community Health Nursing in a Public Health Neighborhood Team

Abstract

An interdisciplinary team in a local public health district tested its ability to implement the core public health functions of assessment, policy development, and assurance by changing its practice to a community-driven model of building partnerships for health with groups and communities in a designated locale. Evaluation of this innovation revealed that the public health nurse members of the team enacted their community health nursing knowledge to strengthen agency to cocreate health. Interdisciplinary collaboration was essential to the team's community mobilization efforts. Additional findings suggested that this organizational innovation was associated with developing a more participatory organizational climate, increasing system effectiveness, and building community capacity.

Nurses at the forefront of innovation

“…A total of 17 community groups were mobilized and public health nurses‐led projects. Each public health nurse paired with a community outreach worker (Westbrook & Schultz 2000).…”

Public Health Nurses' Primary Health Care Practice: Strategies for Fostering Citizen Participation

“…Similarly, Moyer et al (1999) found that capacity-building activities between public health nurses and elderly clients included identifying common ground, working cooperatively, working in partnership, and working across the community. In another study (Westbrook & Schultz, 2000), public health nurses have also improved access for hard-to-reach groups, improved linkages between provider goals and community priorities, increased visibility, and increased leadership skills in high-risk groups Although the passion and intent of nurses to practice from a social justice perspective was evident, it was also clear that their work of citizen engagement was not fully realized due to structural and funding constraints. These findings are similar to other research including reviews of the province's publicly funded Public Health System (Mologhney, 2006) and the Canadian scene for public health nursing (Underwood, 2003).…”

“…Elements in the model included capacity building, citizen participation, working cooperatively, working in partnership with a community agent, and working across different sectors of the community. Westbrook and Schultz (2000) described the work of a public health district multidisciplinary team approach. They specifically cited the nurses' role as strengthening agency within groups and communities to cocreate health through partnership, and intervening in the environment to support collective agency.…”

Local Housing and Service Decisions

“…The importance of 10 JOURNAL OF HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY these partnerships within and across formal and informal groups has been identified by Westbrook and Schultz (2000) and Congdon and Magilvy (2001).…”