Community health nursing plays an important role in the health and welfare of neighborhoods. In this field, registered nurses focus on improving the lives of diverse communities of infants, children, adolescents, and adults through education, prevention, and treatment.
“They assist with equalizing health care in diverse populations so that care is more equitable, affordable, and well-coordinated,” says Sheila Rucki, faculty member in the School of Nursing at Purdue Global.
Learn more about community health nursing, including why it’s important, what it involves, what the future holds, and how to become a registered nurse.
What Is Community Health Nursing?
“Community health nurses look at the broader needs of a population, not just an individual,” says Jessica Gordon, associate dean. “The agenda is health promotion, disease prevention, and recognizing the needs of the community.”
According to research published in the BMC Medical Education journal, community health nursing has two goals:
- Maintain the community’s health
- Promote self-care among individuals and families
It combines nursing theory and health sciences, emphasizing prevention, protection, and health promotion.
As researchers explain, it’s different from community-based nursing, which addresses acute needs and care for those with health problems. By contrast, a community health nurse works with people “who are generally well and have no symptoms.”
Why Is Community Health Nursing Important?
Community health nurses build trust and relationships with individuals and local leaders. They also develop an empathetic understanding of people’s backgrounds, experiences, and the social factors that influence health.
Many members of the community who take advantage of these services might not otherwise have access to private physicians or testing services, among other medical necessities.
“Ethnically diverse and culturally diverse populations are the most underserved,” Rucki says. “Those are the individual groups that benefit most from this kind of health care."
Community health nurses often participate in mobile clinics to help underserved populations, she adds.
“Unhoused individuals are hard to reach because they are mobile,” Rucki says. “They benefit greatly from the care provided by community-focused providers, particularly nurses.”
What Do Community Health Nurses Do, and Where Do They Work?
Community health nurses work in many settings, including community-based centers, government agencies, shelters, and vaccine distribution sites. They build coalitions, craft policies, educate the public, manage public health programs, and more.
“Community health nurses are this incredible file cabinet of resources. They can point people in the right direction for what they need at that time,” Gordon says. “They're dealing with the community, but they provide education on where the community can get the help they need for individualized attention.”
For example, if a community has a high diabetes rate, one nursing focus may be diabetes prevention education.
“Every single community health nurse works based on the population and the needs of that population specifically,” Gordon says.
Where Community Health Nursing Is Needed
Community health nurses, like other registered nurses, often work in local hospitals, trauma centers, and clinics. Many work in locations more focused on underserved communities, including:
- Aid organizations, such as Doctors Without Borders or the Red Cross, providing disaster relief along with other daily local needs
- Community health centers, treating and educating around such topics as family planning, sexual health, and other preventive care
- Correctional facilities, working to limit the spread of communicable diseases, along with running educational programs for inmates and staff
- Government agencies, helping with health policy development and implementation to create change on a large scale
- Homeless shelters, focusing on preventive care through screenings and assessments while helping people find social service assistance
- Schools, providing education about illness prevention and good health habits, along with managing existing health problems and intervening in cases of abuse or neglect
“A lot of the community-based care centers are in parts of town or areas of the country or state where access to care might be limited or not affordable,” Rucki says. “Being based directly in the community provides access opportunities that might otherwise not be available to diverse populations.”
What Does the Future Look Like for Community Health Nursing?
Community health nurses have a bright future, but some serious challenges remain ahead.
Job Growth
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the United States is grappling with a national nursing shortage. As a result, there will be more than 194,000 openings for registered nurses each year, on average, through 2033, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Fortunately, job growth is expected across most types of health care settings — hospitals, outpatient centers, residential care, etc.
Because of these growing needs, becoming a community health nurse has some advantages:
- Creating strong partnerships between nurses and clients or community populations
- Enjoying collaborative nursing care working with clients in a nonhospital setting
- Having a variety of work environments
- Helping vulnerable communities
- Providing holistic and more individualized care
- Working a convenient schedule with little to no holiday or weekend hours
What Challenges Remain Ahead?
Research published in Human Resources for Health indicates that those working in community health may face many challenges aside from the day-to-day demands of practice, including:
- The burden of their workload and expectations
- Religious and cultural practices in communities
- Gendered barriers to care
However, Gordon says another challenge facing community nurses is resistance.
“This can happen whether you're in acute care or community health, but you often see a population as a whole resisting care,” she says. “It can be frustrating when you've provided quality education and care, but you persevere. The challenge is not rejection; it's how you overcome it.”
“It may take time to build trust in populations,” Rucki says. “Once you build an ongoing relationship, you're more likely to see change. Behavior changes in people’s health care practices.”
What Makes a Good Community Health Nurse?
You need certain qualities and qualifications if you’re interested in becoming an effective community health nurse.
Qualifications
As the BLS explains, you must, at a minimum, earn an associate or bachelor’s degree in nursing and pass the NCLEX-RN®. Some may wish to complete a 2-year master's degree program in nursing. Employers often prefer community health nurses who have 1 to 2 years of nursing experience.
“Because this is such an education-heavy job, there's a strong preference toward those with a bachelor's degree,” Gordon says.
Community health nurses are also strongly encouraged to have ties to the areas they wish to serve. Participating in volunteer programs before and after becoming a community health nurse is highly recommended.
Currently, there isn’t a certification specific to public health nursing at the generalist level. However, nurses with a bachelor’s degree and at least 5 years of public health experience can obtain the Certification in Public Health (CPH). Visit the National Board of Public Health Examiners for more information on the CPH.
Qualities
According to the BLS, some important qualities that are helpful for registered nurses include:
- Critical thinking: Nurses must assess health changes and determine when to take corrective action.
- Communication: Nurses need to talk with patients to understand their concerns and evaluate health conditions.
- Compassion: Nurses should have empathy, which is important when caring for and working with patients.
- Detail-oriented: Nurses must be precise to ensure patients get the correct treatments at the right time.
- Emotional stability: Nurses require emotional intelligence and resilience to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other on-the-job stressors.
- Organization: Nurses must be organized as they work with multiple patients at a time and need to coordinate numerous treatment plans simultaneously.
- Physical stamina: Nurses should be comfortable working long hours on their feet and performing physical tasks.
Community health nurses should also be connected to their community, open-minded to those different from them, sensitive to different opinions, and objective in their view of the communities they serve.
“An essential component to these roles is a passion for serving the communities that are around them,” Gordon says. “These nurses have a connection and they understand the populations. They want to see them thrive and do better.”
“What's really so rewarding for nurses is this long-term engagement,” Rucki says. “In an acute care setting, you're engaged with the patient and family for a short period of time. But in the community, they're your patients for life. You see families grow and care for them over a number of years.
“That ability to connect and learn and know about the individuals that make up your community is so rewarding for nurses.”
Do You Have a Future in Community Health Nursing?
“Community-based nurses are very strong forces for change in a community,” Rucki says. Gordon says this theme is woven throughout all programs at Purdue Global.
If you're interested in a career in community health nursing, Purdue Global’s online nursing programs can help you get started. Reach out today for more information.
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