Skip to ContentGo to accessibility page
OpenStax Logo
Population Health for Nurses

Introduction

Population Health for NursesIntroduction
Figure 16.1 Each community has unique characteristics that affect the way people live, work, and relax, all of which affect their health. (credit: modification of work “Students on the beach. It is bright but chilly” by Loren Kerns/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Chapter Outline

Introduction

Elsa is a 17-year-old high school student with type 1 diabetes mellitus. They play soccer for the school team, babysit for children in the neighborhood most weekend evenings, have worked at an ice cream stand for the past three summers, and see friends from school often. Elsa’s town is on the Atlantic Ocean and is a popular summer destination for people from the surrounding region. The town has plenty of green space and places to jog, bike, and enjoy the outdoors. The community members take pride in keeping the beach clean and wildlife protected. Elsa avoids summer traffic by getting around town on a bike.

The town has many part-time (summer) residents, creating some challenges for the year-round community. The population shrinks from 25,000 summer residents to 1,500 permanent residents each September. From September to May, many stores and restaurants close, especially the smaller, family-owned restaurants with healthier options that rely on tourist traffic to sustain business. Elsa knows plenty of people who feel isolated during the offseason and thinks that substance use is especially problematic during this time. Even some health clinics, dental offices, and pharmacies close, creating problems for residents who need ongoing care. Elsa’s mother has a full-time, year-round job at the grocery store, but some parents do not have consistent work. A special challenge for Elsa is the lack of an endocrinologist or clinic in the area to provide diabetes care, requiring them to travel 90 minutes each way every 3 months for appointments at the nearest hospital with a diabetes clinic. Elsa wishes telehealth visits were an option, but lab testing is required at each visit. A school nurse is helpful with challenges between clinic visits, but the nurse is only at Elsa’s school 2 days a week because the elementary, middle, and high schools all share the nurse.

In community-oriented nursing, nurses may care for groups of people instead of one client at a time. This chapter discusses addressing health in communities, assessing communities, supporting a culture of health, and applying the nursing process to professional practice activities in the community setting. The chapter also provides opportunities to reflect on Elsa’s community and the different health opportunities and barriers that community members experience.

PreviousNext
Order a print copy
Citation/Attribution
Reuse and redistribution of this content in digital or print format:
  • This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's prior written permission.
  • This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License, which means that you can reuse and modify the material only for noncommercial purposes, must attribute OpenStax, and must distribute any derivative works under the same license.
  • Any commercial printing of this textbook, including using a local or custom printer, must be approved by OpenStax, and proper citation provided.
  • OpenStax-copyrighted images, activities, assessments, and similar components of this book are subject to the same licensing – CC-BY-NC-SA. They can be used for noncommercial purposes with attribution. Commercial use requires permission.
  • Permission requests: Anyone who intends to incorporate this content (including text, images, and other components) into large language models, use it in AI offerings, use it commercially (including in print), and/or has questions about another use case is welcome to complete our reuse request form.
Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/population-health/pages/1-introduction

  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial digital format, then for every page that includes OpenStax content, you must license the derivative work under the same CC-BY-NC-SA license as the original, and include on every digital page view the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/population-health/pages/1-introduction

Citation information

The information below includes the information needed to generate citations in most major styles (APA, MLA, etc.); you must reformat and organize the information as needed to fit the requirements of the style. Use the information below to generate a citation. We recommend using a citation tool such as this one.

© Apr 23, 2026 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo, and Rice University name, and Rice University logo trademarks, or wordmarks are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.