The chosen epidemiological function is public health surveillance. It involves a continuous collection, analysis, interpretation, and distribution of health data to facilitate effective decision-making and taking appropriate actions in health care settings (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). The work of Florence Nightingale addressed the concept of public health surveillance through her spiritual beliefs in God and how to care for His creations. She focused on monitoring the healthcare system and maternal mortality during delivery that generally relates to information for action (Frello & Carraro, 2013). Therefore, monitoring facilitates the portrayal of the patterns of diseases, their occurrence, and the potential of causing illnesses, as well as their prevention measures. Similarly, Nightingale’s statistics can be used to predict the morbidity and mortality rates that are linked to specific diseases. Further, her work relates to public health surveillance involving the procedural collection, analysis, and dissemination of information for interpretation to determine their potential of causing health havoc, as well as their control strategies.
Public health surveillance focuses on the environmental factors that increase morbidity and mortality amongst patients. The interplay between the factors results in infections that make patients susceptible to diseases. Therefore, surveillance often involves publishing health reports sourced from public health program data, disease registries, and health surveys. The epidemiologic function had been demonstrated by Nightingale’s work that addressed concerns about the environment. She claimed that nurses should investigate the environmental factors responsible for disease outbreaks to facilitate the provision of humanized care. Therefore, caregivers could ensure the effective recovery of patients if they could promote a balanced environment that saves the patients the energy to recover from ailments (Medeiros, Enders & Lira, 2015). In conclusion, environmental surveillance was demonstrated by the perception of maintaining an ample surrounding that guarantees healthy living conditions as it relates to cleanliness, heat, lighting, noise, and ventilation.
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References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012, 3 rd ed.). Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice: An Introduction to Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson1/section4.html
Frello, A. T. & Carraro, T. E. (2013). Florence Nightingale's Contributions: An Integrative Review of the Literature. Esc Anna Nery (print); 17 (3):573 – 579. Retrieved from http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ean/v17n3/en_1414-8145-ean-17-03-0573.pdf
Medeiros, A. B. A., Enders, B. C. & Lira, A. L. (2015). The Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory: A Critical Analysis. Esc Anna Nery ; 19(3):518-524. Retrieved from http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ean/v19n3/en_1414-8145-ean-19-03-0518.pdf
