A community health approach to AIDS: caring for the patient and educating the public

The effectiveness of community health nursing interventions: a literature review

As the devastating impact of many public health problems becomes more evident nationwide, a need exists for effective programs aimed at community-oriented health promotion. Escalating health care costs, however, severely limit available health care resources, threatening the demise of many public health efforts. During this time of imminent reform in our national health care system, it is imperative for community health nurses to elicit support by demonstrating the efficacy of their interventions (Oda & Boyd, 1987). This article describes services provided by community health nurses and documents the effectiveness of these interventions based on available literature. The programs reviewed represent community health nursing strategies developed in response to the needs of high-risk families, geographic communities, and vulnerable population groups. Both descriptive analyses and outcome-evaluation studies are used to support the effectiveness of home-based and community-centered community health nursing interventions. Recommendations eliciting support for community health nursing practice from legislators, policy makers, practice agencies, professional organizations, educators, and research institutions are included.

Community health nursing and the AIDS pandemic: case report of one community's response

The World Health Organization (WHO) currently projects that there may be a cumulative total of 30 million cases of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) worldwide by the year 2000 ("WHO Predicts," 1991). Community health nurses (CHNs), particularly those employed by local and state health departments, have a major role to play in the worldwide public health effort being mounted in response to the AIDS pandemic. CHN roles may include: direct caregiver, advocate, case manager, health educator, program planner, program coordinator, and policy advocate. How CHNs contribute to the effort against AIDS in various CHN roles is illustrated through a case report of a Midwestern U.S. suburban community's response to AIDS. The community's response was fostered and an AIDS program developed and implemented by CHNs employed by the community's health department. In addition to enabling this community to respond to AIDS in a humane and caring manner, the CHN initiatives have resulted in positive community feelings about the health department, and enhanced the image of CHNs as innovators and facilitators of change.