Running head: LAUREN POWELL - CHN ASSIGNMENT

Community Health Nurses (CHN) Name: Phillip Cook, NP

Clinical Site: St. Lukes Home
Date of Experience: 10/11/16
1. The Community Health Nurse (CHN) served the population that was comprised of
mostly white and Hispanic individuals. The population was between 60-95 years of age
and consisted of both males and females. Additionally, the CHN served mostly married
individuals who were once employed, but are now retired.
2. One community factor from the Healthy People 2020 Social Environment that impacts
the health, function, or quality of life of the community is exposure to mass media, such
as the Internet or cell phones. The elders at St. Lukes Home have access to the Internet,
which they can use for entertainment, education, and/or obtaining information. Some
elders have personal computers/laptops, iPads, cell phones, and music devices, but if one
does not own any of these devices, St. Lukes Home provides public computers
throughout the facility. The elders quality of life is positively affected by being able to
access technology, which allows this community to maintain and strengthen relationships,
communicate with others, participate in trade and industry, and have access to
educational materials.
3. One community factor from the Healthy People 2020 Health Services that impacts the
health, function, or quality of life of the community is health literacy. At St. Lukes Home
there are many educational and informative materials that are available for the elders.
However, some of these materials are written for health professionals. If the older adults
cannot easily understand health information that pertains to them, this can lead to
increased health disparities, poor health outcomes, increased use of health care services,
and health care safety issues, such as medication errors.
4.

LAUREN POWELL - CHN ASSIGNMENT

a. One nursing action taken by the CHN was educating and empowering one of the
elders about health issues and promotion. The CHN educated the elder, who had
discoloration and swelling of her lower limbs (related to chronic heart failure), on
the importance of taking her medication (diuretic) and how it will improve her
health issue. The elder only took half of the dose that was prescribed and the CHN
promoted taking the full dose of the medication.
b. The Core Public Health Function #3, Assurance, relates to the CHNs activity.
c. The related Essential Public Health Service is Essential Service #7: link people to
needed personal health services and assure the provision of health care when
otherwise unavailable.
d. The related intervention from the Minnesota Wheel of Public Health Interventions
is health teaching.
5. The level of prevention is Tertiary Prevention. The CHN educated the elder on being
compliant with her medications in order to limit disability and rehabilitate or restore the
elder to her maximum possible capacity. This intervention targets an established and
usually permanent health problem, which the elder had, making it tertiary prevention.
Due to the fact that the elder had an established health problem, according to the natural
history of a disease, she is in the Stage of Recovery or Disability.
6. Ineffective health management of therapeutic regimen among geriatric population related
to lack of understanding of the implications of not following the prescribed treatment
plan, difficulty modifying personal habits, and difficulty adapting to treatments effects as
evidenced by observed and reported lack of compliance of prescribed medications, the
elder stating I only take half the dose because I dont like what the medication does to
me, and worsening of the elders health issue.