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Community health nursing has been shaped by remarkable nurses such as Florence Nightingale and organizations such as the Victorian Order of Nurses. Community health nurses promote the health of:

Individuals
Families
Communities
Populations
Environments

Community health nursing combines nursing theory and knowledge, social sciences and public health science with primary health care. They regard disease prevention, health protection and health promotion as the goals of nursing practice.

Helpful hint: If you're looking for the history of nursing in Canada, then please check out the book, This is Public Health: A Canadian History, featured on the Canadian Public Health Association website. The history of nursing is very much integrated with the history of public health in Canada.

This Glossary of Terms from the Public Health Agency of Canada provides good definitions to help with an understanding of this area.

This section outlines epidemiological content and tools for decision-making in healthcare. Also, consult with the EDI& B Guide for more information on intersectionality and health topics.

Reference:

RNAO. (2008). Canadian community health nursing standards of practice. https://neltoolkit.rnao.ca/sites/default/files/Canadian%20Community%20Health%20Nursing%20Standards%20of%20Practice%20mar08_english.pdf

Advanced Public and Community Health Nursing Practice by Naomi E. Ervin; Pamela Kulbok
ISBN: 9780826138446
Publication Date: 2018-03-28
Written by advanced practice public/community health nurse experts, this comprehensive resource for advanced practice nursing students and clinicians builds upon the core foundations of practice: social justice, interdisciplinary practice, community involvement, disease prevention, and health promotion. Interweaving theory, practice, and contemporary issues, Advanced Public and Community Health Nursing Practice, Second Edition, provides essential knowledge needed to successfully assess communities, diagnose community situations, plan programs and budgets, and evaluate programs in public and community health.
Introduction to Community Nursing Practice by Jane Arnott; Siobhan Atherley; Sarah Pye; Joanne Kelly
ISBN: 9780335244720
Publication Date: 2012-07-01
This new textbook is perfect for understanding how community nursing works, and how to work effectively in community settings. The skills required to work with the challenges of community nurse activities are clearly introduced, from working in people's homes, working with carers, developing assessment skills to working with other professionals. By drawing on vivid case studies set in the fictional town of Chettlesbridge, the authors skilfully bring to life the world of community nursing practice enabling you to apply new learning to real situations.
Public/Community Health and Nursing Practice by Christine L. Savage
ISBN: 9780803677111
Publication Date: 2019-09-20
In this book, you'll encounter different case studies in every chapter--that explore concepts such as community assessments, public health policy, and surveillance. Step by step, you'll develop the knowledge and skills you need to apply public health principles across a variety of health care settings, special populations, and scenarios.

Population health refers to the health of a population as measured by health status indicators and as influenced by:

Social
Economic
Physical environments
Personal health practices
Individual capacity
Coping skills
Human biology
Early childhood development
Health services

A population health approach focuses on improving the health status of the population rather than individuals. A population health approach uses "evidence-based decision making" including quantitative and qualitative evidence on the determinants of health to identify priorities for improvements in health.

Community health nurses contribute in many ways to population health by their roles and knowledge. They are leaders of change to systems that support health and play key roles in disease, disability and injury prevention. A relevant document to review which outlines the nurse's role in population health is from the Canadian Public Health Association, "Public Health~Community Health Nursing Practice in Canada: Roles and Activities"

Reference:

Government of Canada. (2013). What is the population health approach? https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/population-health-approach/what-population-health-approach.html#health

Global Population Health and Well-Being in the 21st Century by George R. Lueddeke
ISBN: 9780826127679
Publication Date: 2015-08-01
"This book provides an excellent foundation for students seeking a context for global models and practices in population health...an excellent primer for those who are ready to engage in global health projects." --Jay E. Maddock, PsycCRITIQUES "A must read for public health, clinical, and social care students, teachers, and practitioners alike, including case studies to provide a thorough and up-to-date account of the past, present, and future of global public health. Dr Lueddeke effectively highlights the ingenuity gap between today's wicked problems and their potential solutions, with a timely emphasis on the concepts of "planetary health" and "integrative ecological public health."
Integrative Health Nursing Interventions for Vulnerable Populations by edited by Amber Vermeesch
ISBN: 9783030600433
Publication Date: 2021
This book provides nurses, clinicians, practitioners, educators and students working with vulnerable and underserved populations with essential information on effective wellness strategies to address inadequate nutrition, promote physical activity, and reduce perceived stress through an integrative health nursing framework. It begins with an overview of cultural humility, health inequities, and social justice, establishing the need for an integrative health nursing framework.
Principles of Epidemiology for Advanced Nursing Practice : A Population Health Perspective by Mary Beth Zeni
ISBN: 9781284154955
Publication Date: 2021
Principles of Epidemiology for Advanced Practice Nurses provides students and practitioners with an overview of epidemiology concepts as well as the history, models and frameworks in use today.
Public Health Nursing: Practicing Population-Based Care by edited by Marie Truglio-Londrigan, Sandra B. Lewenson
ISBN: 9781284121308
Publication Date: 2018
Public Health Nursing: Practicing Population-Based Care, Third Edition is a comprehensive resource for students and faculty interested in public health nursing and education.

This video, An Introduction to Health Promotion and the Ottawa charter, is highly recommended since it explains health promotion, the process of enabling people to increase control over, and how to improve their health. Health promotion is a very important part of public health. The video examines these key concepts and the Ottawa Charter – a landmark document that has been influential in providing guidance to the goals and concepts of health promotion.

Health Promotion and Aging, Seventh Edition by David Haber
ISBN: 9780826131881
Publication Date: 2016-03-15
The seventh edition of this classic text champions healthy aging by demonstrating how to prevent or manage disease and make large-scale improvements toward health and wellness in the older adult population. The text synthesizes state-of-the-art research findings -- providing convincing evidence that health promotion truly works -- with practical, effective strategies. Encompassing important research results that supplant prior recommendations, this new edition provides updated best practices and strategies to ensure the active participation of older adults in all aspects of life.
Contemporary Health Promotion in Nursing Practice by Bonnie Raingruber
ISBN: 9781449697211
Publication Date: 2013-02-07
In Contemporary Health Promotion in Nursing Practice, Bonnie Raingruber describes why nurses are positioned to model healthy behavior to the general public, and how they can promote health to their clients and community. This text emphasizes the nurse's role in health promotion, and illustrates how healthy behaviors, like weight management, positive dietary changes, smoking cessation, and exercise, are more likely to be adopted by clients if nurses adopt these same behaviors.
Fast Facts for Health Promotion in Nursing by Carol A. Miller
ISBN: 9780826110534
Publication Date: 2013-05-01
This book is truly a quick reference tool, combining the facts from many chapters in nursing textbooks and applying a holistic approach to care and promotion. The author scales down the ''need to know'' of patient care while integrating health promotion opportunities within multiple nursing assessments and interventions.

Image: NursingCenter. (n.d.). Social determinants of health [Image]. NursingCenter. https://www.nursingcenter.com/ncblog/november-2019/social-determinants-of-health

A Framework for Educating Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Health by Committee on Educating Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Health; Board on Global Health; Institute of Medicine; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
ISBN: 9780309392624
Publication Date: 2016-11-14
In an era of pronounced human migration, changing demographics, and growing financial gaps between rich and poor, a fundamental understanding of how the conditions and circumstances in which individuals and populations exist affect mental and physical health is imperative. Educating health professionals about the social determinants of health generates awareness among those professionals about the potential root causes of ill health and the importance of addressing them in and with communities, contributing to more effective strategies for improving health and health care for underserved individuals, communities, and populations.
Social Determinants of Health by Adrian Bonner (Editor)
ISBN: 9781447336860
Publication Date: 2017-12-06
This book provides an applied, interdisciplinary approach to an understanding of the key social determinants of health, essential at a time of increasing inequalities and reductions in existing NHS services and local authority budgets. Based on the 'rainbow model' of the social determinants of health, chapters from experts in a wide range of disciplines examine the key factors which can lead to poor quality of life, homelessness and reduced mortality.
The Social Determinants of Mental Health by Michael T. Compton (Editor); Ruth S. Shim (Editor)
ISBN: 9781585624775
Publication Date: 2014-12-24
The Social Determinants of Mental Health aims to fill the gap that exists in the psychiatric, scholarly, and policy-related literature on the social determinants of mental health: those factors stemming from where we learn, play, live, work, and age that impact our overall mental health and well-being. The editors provide detailed information on topics such as discrimination and social exclusion; adverse early life experiences; poor education; unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity; income inequality, poverty, and neighborhood deprivation; food insecurity; poor housing quality and housing instability.
Public Health Ethics and Social Determinants of Health by Daniel S. Goldberg
ISBN: 9783319513454
Publication Date: 2017-11-20
This progressive resource places concepts of social determinants of health in the larger contexts of contemporary health ethics and the evolution of social reform. It provides needed analysis of the larger causes behind the immediate causes of illness and epidemics, particularly injustice, systemic inequities, and the cumulative effect of compound disadvantages. This moral approach to collective and individual responsibilities supports a sound blueprint for finding answers to longstanding global and local concerns.

Significant health disparities exist between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians. First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples continue to experience considerably lower health outcomes than non-Aboriginal Canadians. On many health indicators, First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples consistently show a disproportionate burden of disease or health disparities. These disparities are rooted in inequities with many of the disparities existing outside of the health domain.

Reference:

National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health. (2013). An overview of aboriginal health in canada. https://www.ccnsa-nccah.ca/docs/context/FS-OverviewAbororiginalHealth-EN.pdf

An Introduction to Indigenous Health and Healthcare in Canada by Vasiliki Douglas
ISBN: 9780826164124
Publication Date: 2020-10-28
This textbook for Canadian nursing and allied health students explores the major health issues of Indigenous populations and how to improve their overall health. The second edition addresses a key development since the first edition was published: an increasing consensus among Indigenous peoples that their health is tied to environmental determinants, both physical and philosophical. This text describes what is distinctive about Indigenous approaches to health and healing and why it should be studied as a discrete field. It provides a framework for professionals to approach Indigenous clients in a way that both respects the client's worldview while retaining a professional epistemology.
Under-served: Health Determinants of Indigenous, Inner-city, and Migrant Populations in Canada by edited by Akshaya Neil Arya and Thomas Piggott
ISBN: 9781773380599
Publication Date: 2018
In this edited collection, academics, heath care professionals, and policy-makers examine the historical, political, and social factors that influence the health and health care of Indigenous, inner-city, and migrant populations in Canada. It explores epidemiology, clinical management, critical perspectives, and policy solutions on the health inequities faced by these under-served populations and the work being done to improve their health. With contributions from leading scholars including Dennis Raphael, this book addresses the need for systemic change both in and outside of the Canadian health care system.
Medicine Unbundled: A Journey Through the Minefields of Indigenous Health Care by Geddes, Gary
ISBN: 9781772031645
Publication Date: 2017
Gary Geddes turned his investigative lens on his own country, embarking on a long and difficult journey across Canada to interview Indigenous elders willing to share their experiences of segregated health care, including their treatment in the Indian hospitals that existed from coast to coast for over half a century. The memories recounted by these survivors—from gratuitous drug and surgical experiments to electroshock treatments intended to destroy the memory of sexual abuse—are truly harrowing. Yet, this is more than just the painful history of a once-so-called vanishing people (a people who have resisted vanishing despite the best efforts of those in charge); it is a testament to survival, perseverance, and the power of memory to keep history alive and promote the idea of a more open and just future.
Global Indigenous Health by Robert Henry (Editor); Amanda LaVallee (Editor); Nancy Van Styvendale (Editor); Robert Alexander Innes (Editor)
ISBN: 9780816538942
Publication Date: 2018-10-30
In the past, traditional understandings of health often intersected with individual, community, and environmental relationships of well-being, creating an equilibrium of living well. However, the imposition of colonial policies regarding health, justice, and the environment have dramatically impacted Indigenous peoples' health. Building on Indigenous knowledge systems of health and critical decolonial theories, the volume's contributors--who are academic and community researchers from Canada, the United States, Sweden, and New Zealand--weave a narrative to explore issues of Indigenous health within four broad themes: ethics and history, environmental and ecological health, impacts of colonial violence on kinship, and Indigenous knowledge and health activism.

Key Canadian Agencies for Social Determinants of Health

Social Determinants of Health

Social determinants of health refer to a specific group of social and economic factors within the broader determinants of health. These relate to a person's place in society, such as income, education or employment. Experiences of discrimination, racism and historical trauma are important social determinants of health for certain groups such as Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQ and Black Canadians. Please read more about the social determinants of health from the Government of Canada and the links provided below.

Reference:

Government of Canada. (2022). Social determinants of health and health inequalities. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/what-determines-health.html

Canadian Public Health Association
The Canadian Public Health Association is a the independent national voice and trusted advocate for public health, speaking up for people and populations to all levels of government.
Community Health Nurses of Canada
The Community Health Nurses of Canada, an associate member of the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), is a voluntary association of community health nurses consisting of community health nurses and provincial/territorial community health nursing interest groups.
Health Inequalities and Social Determinants of Aboriginal Peoples' Health (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health
This paper, featured by the Canadian Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, uses available data to describe health inequalities experienced by diverse Aboriginal peoples in Canada. The data are organized around social determinants of health across the life course and provide evidence that not only demonstrates important health disparities within
Aboriginal groups and compared to non-Aboriginal people, but also links social determinants, at proximal, intermediate and distal levels, to health inequities.
National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health
The resource library from the National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health contains more than 350 resources. The library is evolving as they continue to add resources that are relevant, geared to practice, and either recently published or foundational to current health equity thinking in public health.
The Social Determinant of Health (Canadian Mental Health Association)
Mental health is influenced by many factors including life experiences, workplace or other environments, and the social and economic conditions that shape our lives. These social and economic conditions are called the social determinants of health and are some of the most important factors that impact on mental and physical health. Research shows that the social determinants can be more important than health care or lifestyle choices in influencing health.
Social Determinants of Health (CMA)
Read more about the social determinants of health from the Canadian Medical Association which states that social determinants are systematic social and economic conditions that influence a person’s health. They include income, housing, education, gender and race, and have a greater impact on individual and population health than biological and environmental conditions. Their impact can even be greater than that of the health care system itself.
Social Determinants of Health (CNA)
A Health in All Policies approach is best situated to promote health equity. Policies addressing income, employment, education, housing, transportation and others should be evaluated in their planning stages for their impact on health. All facets of nursing practice, in collaboration with others in and outside of the health sector, should strive to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, health inequity. Nurses must include the social determinants of health in their assessments and interventions with individuals, families and communities.
Social Determinants of Health (RNAO)
Overwhelming evidence from academic research and RNs’ own nursing practice shows that differences in social and economic status are directly linked to inequitable health outcomes. As is most evident in a recession, as the income gap between rich and poor widens the health disparities also increase. Those with the lowest income die earlier and have significantly higher incidences of a variety of chronic diseases, conditions and disorders.
Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequalities (Public Health Agency of Canada)
This is information from the Public Health Agency of Canada discussing the social determinants of health which refer to a specific group of social and economic factors within the broader determinants of health. These relate to an individual's place in society, such as income, education or employment. Experiences of discrimination, racism and historical trauma are important social determinants of health for certain groups such as Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQ and Black Canadians.
A Statistical Profile on the Health of First Nations in Canada
The Statistical Profile on the Health of First Nations in Canada series, first published in 2003, was developed to provide national-level information that contributes to the description of the health status and conditions of First Nations people in Canada. Its intent is to help improve First Nations health by increasing the information available to health professionals, researchers, community leaders and the public. The series aims to fill an important information gap by providing stakeholders
with a national picture of the health of First Nations, and inform evidence-based decision making.

Epidemiology for Decision-Making

According to the World Health Organization, epidemiology is the study of the spread of disease and factors affecting states of health. Epidemiology doesn’t just focus on illness; it studies wellness and how to maintain it. Nurses are on the front line of disease outbreaks, so they need to understand the basics of epidemiology and apply them where necessary. The links below are great tools to start locating epidemiological information for your research.

Video:

This video will provide a greater understanding of how to measure and report on health inequities:

Measuring Health Inequalities: An Introduction (The Canadian Institute for Health Information)

References:

Government of Canada. (2022). How to integrate intersectionality theory in quantitative health equity analysis: a rapid review and checklist of promising practices. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/science-research-data/how-integrate-intersectionality-theory-quantitative-health-equity-analysis.html

Regis College. (2021). Etiology vs. epidemiology: important concepts in nursing. https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/etiology-vs-epidemiology-important-concepts-in-nursing/

Health Equity Monitor Database (WHO)
Monitoring health inequalities is essential for achieving health equity. Health inequality monitoring uses health data disaggregated by relevant inequality dimensions (i.e. demographic, socioeconomic or geographical factors) in order to identify differences in health between different population subgroups.
Health Inequalities Data Tool
This tool monitors and measures health inequalities in Canada. It includes data on indicators of health status and health determinants. The data are stratified by the social and economic characteristics that are meaningful for public health programming.
Health Inequalities Interactive Tool
A tool, by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, allows users to explore health inequalities by year and changes over time at national and provincial levels.
How to integrate intersectionality Theory in Quantitative Health Equity Analysis? A Rapid Review and Checklist of Promising Practices
Intersectionality refers to how sources of discrimination overlap and reinforce each other. It refers to the reality that people have many identities which intersect. In public health, intersectionality theory can be applied to better understand health inequalities. This report helps fill the gap in evidence. It summarizes a literature review which explored how to apply intersectionality in data analyses of health inequalities.