Public Health Skills A Practical Guide for nurses and public health practitioners

Nurses and other public health practitioners have a crucial role to play in helping to improve the collective well being of society and so developing skills in public health - preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health ? is key to this process. Public Health Skills: A practical guide for nurses and public health practitioners covers the complete spectrum of public health practice: the effective assessment and management of need, understanding policy and how to affect its implementation; before moving on to explore practical issues and themes surrounding the facilitation of public health. Within the four sections of the book, the text is organised around the ten core public health skills outlined in the National Occupational Standards for the practice of public health, covering skills including surveillance and assessment, collaborative working, working with communities, strategy development, risk management, leadership and ethics.

Public Health Skills: A practical guide for nurses and public health practitioners provides the fundamental, essential knowledge and skills required to provide safe and effective practice and is an invaluable resource for all those connected to this vital, challenging and rapidly expanding aspect of health provision.

Introduction.

Tour Guide.

Section 1: Assessment of public health needs.

1. Assessing and Identifying Health Needs: theories and frameworks for practice.

2. Health Needs Assessment :appraising and measuring need.

3. Needs Assessment.

Section 2: Management of public health needs.

4. Collaborative Working: organisational development for community participation.

5. Partnerships for Public Health: user involvement to improve health and wellbeing.

6. Partnerships for Pulic Health: professional involvement to improve health and wellbeing.

7. Communication and You.

Section 3: Public Health Policies and their Impact on Practice.

8. Appraising and Influencing Health Policy and Strategy.

9. Strategic Leadership for Health and Wellbeing.

10. Health Protection and the Role of the Public Health Nurse.

11. Research and Development: analysis and interpretation of evidence.

12. Quality and Risk Management in Primary Care Settings.

Section 4: Facilitation of Public Health Activities.

13. Quality and Risk Management: safe guarding children and vulnerable groups.

14. Developing Programmes, Services and Reducing Inequalities.

15. Programme Planning for Health Education.

16. Ethically Managing Self, People and Resources to Improve the Health and Wellbeing of Patients and Clients in the Community.

Glossary of terms.

Index

Public health practitioners (including school nurses, health visitors and occupational health nurses), Community nursing students, Specialist community public health nurses

Lesley Coles is a Lecturer in Public health in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, at the University of Southampton.

Elizabeth Porter is a Lecturer in Public Health Practice and Health Visiting in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, at the University of Southampton.