LECTURE NOTES 
                                       
                              For Nursing Students 
                                       
                                       
                                       
                                       
                                        
                   Community Health  
                               Nursing 
                                        
                                       
                                       
                                       
                                             
                                       
                                       
                                       
                               Daniel Mengistu 
                              Equlinet Misganaw 
                                       
                             University of Gondar 
                                       
                                       
             In collaboration with the Ethiopia Public Health Training Initiative, The Carter Center, 
                 the Ethiopia Ministry of Health, and the Ethiopia Ministry of Education 
                                       
                                    2006 
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
                                        
             Funded under USAID Cooperative Agreement No. 663-A-00-00-0358-00. 
                               
                               
          Produced in collaboration with the Ethiopia Public Health Training Initiative, The Carter 
            Center, the Ethiopia Ministry of Health, and the Ethiopia Ministry of Education. 
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
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         ©2006 by Daniel Mengistu and Equlinet Misganaw 
          
          
         All rights reserved. Except as expressly provided above, no part of this publication may 
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          This material is intended for educational use only by practicing health care workers or 
                    students and faculty in a health care field. 
                               
                                                   PREFACE 
                               
                              Community health Nursing is the synthesis of nursing and 
                              public health practice applied to promote and protect the 
                              health of population. It combines all the basic elements of 
                              professional, clinical nursing with public health and community 
                              practice. 
                               
                              Community health nursing is essential particularly at this point 
                              in time because it maximizes the health status of individuals, 
                              families, groups and the community through direct approach 
                              with them. Today community participation and involvement is 
                              getting a due attention before the occurrence of illnesses as 
                              life-style changes to continue to play a significant role in 
                              morbidity and mortality. Chronis illnesses, tobacco smoking, 
                              road traffic accident (RTA) …etc, and environmental changes 
                              that affect health are steadily becoming the major concerns 
                                                                                      st
                              influencing human health in our country. As nurses of 21  
                              century we have duties and responsibilities to keep a dynamic 
                              balance with the ever changing needs of the health of our 
                              society. To maintain abreast with this societal needs we 
                              professional nurses must understand concepts and models of 
                              the community health nursing, the importance of health 
                              promotion and disease prevention and health care planning, 
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               implementation and evaluation of health care efforts for the 
               advantage of the community. 
                 
               The purpose for preparing this lecture note is to upgrade the 
               previously prepared lecture note and to present the subject in 
               a relatively simplified and organized way. 
                
               The teaching material is based on the existing curriculum of 
               community health nursing and consists of 14 units. Each unit 
               has its own objectives, body and reviewing question at the 
               end. 
                
               Finally a lot of effort has gone in preparing this material within 
               short period of time, valuable and constructive comments 
               have welcome for the improving of this lecture note. 
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
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