Stanhope Ch. 1 Foundation of Public Health Nursing Questions and Answers 2024

1. In 1988, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report on the future of public health and its mission that defined public health as: a. what public-private partnerships do to treat vulnerable populations. b. what the government does to ensure that vital programs are in place. c. what the U.S. Public Health Service does to prevent disease, promote health, and deliver services. d. what society does collectively to ensure the conditions in which people can be healthy. - Correct Answer ANS: D In 1988, the IOM's report stated that public health is "what we, as a society, do collectively to assure the conditions in which people can be healthy." Consequently, the mission of public health is "to generate organized community effort to address the public's interest in health by applying scientific and technical knowledge to prevent disease and promote health." This clearly places the emphasis on the desire of the population and community to ensure access to services that foster the health status of the overall community through the equitable distribution of resources addressed to community problems that affect health. 2. A registered nurse is seeking a position as a public health nurse. In reviewing the job description, the nurse would expect to find a description of a position that focused on functions such as: a. monitoring pregnant teenagers for symptoms of complications of pregnancy. b. offering free hypertension screening and treatment referral at local health fairs to low-income, uninsured, community members. c. partnering with local seasonal farmworkers to design a program aimed at preventing illness and injury, and advocating for this population with local political and community leaders. d. preventing injury among a population of elderly residents in an assisted living facility and treating residents' chronic illnesses. - Correct Answer ANS: C The scope of practice of public health nurses is population focused and community oriented, with a primary emphasis on population-level interventions that target strategies for health promotion and disease prevention. In addition, public health nursing is concerned with the health of all members of a population or community, particularly vulnerable populations, and uses political processes as a major intervention strategy. 3. A public health nurse leader is encountering barriers when trying to shift the public health agency's efforts to a population-focused practice. The reasons peers are not supportive of the proposed shift to a population focus are most likely related to: a. agency colleagues' push for nurses to focus on population initiatives.