Health economics is coined from two words; health and economy. According to economists, economics is a broad social science that studies human ways of survival when hit with a scarcity of resources. Therefore, health economics is a discipline of economics that deals with the functioning of the healthcare systems. Healthcare providers use economic theory in making decisions concerning healthcare. Public health economics involves studying the decisions applied to public health. Public health finance is a field of study that is concerned with the acquisition and management of essential resources for service delivery in a community-based healthcare system. Both a community health nurse and a public health nurse play a key role in promoting healthcare. However, the two have different roles in delivering health services. Community health nurses normally deliver health services to individual groups or families. Their primary goal is to improve community health. On the contrary, a public health nurse delivers health services to the entire population. For instance, in a scenario where there is an outbreak of Malaria, the public health nurse must develop a policy in line with the population needs. Generally, the primary goal of a public health nurse is to improve the population health status. In either case, nursing care should be provided at the minimal cost possible. Nurses should always be on the frontline as far as preventive care is concerned. High-risk individuals such as aging require close medical attention. Nurses should identify at-risk individuals and provide strategies for better preventive healthcare measures.
Decision-making in public health involves distinguishing between the right and the wrong. However, sometimes nurses are caught in dilemmas and are unable to make decisions. When such scenarios occur, they use the nursing ethical framework. Ethics reflects the good morals that every nurse should apply in their duties. A nurse should never have a bias when serving patients. Every patient ought to be treated with equal respect and dignity. A common ethical issue in the health sector today is a medical error. Medical error is a serious ethical issue that has negative impacts on health outcome. However, medical error could be limited (if not completely solved) if health care professionals would more careful and concentrating. When handling a patient, a nurse should always ensure all the necessary resources are available. When it comes to medical ethics and public health ethics, the latter involves the interaction between a health institution and the public (community) while the earlier involves the interaction between a nurse and a patient. However, both are meant to improve health outcomes by strengthening the nurse-patient relationship. A public health nurse plays a significant role in promoting public healthcare. A public health nurse usually ensures health resources are available and close to the community. The African-American community is a group of people who feel unwanted by the system. This group has tirelessly fought discrimination and racism in public health care for many years. Racism and discrimination are just some of the challenges African-American face in accessing health services.
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Cultural diversity is important in healthcare because it makes minority groups feel respected and valued. Cultural diversity improves health care service delivery thus promoting patient satisfaction. A nurse working in a different cultural environment may encounter challenges in delivering health care services. However, mastering knowledge in the following three areas may assist; attitude, skills, and language. A culturally competent nurse must consider these three areas for effective service delivery. To serve as a public health nurse in the United States, you must be a US citizen or non-citizen who meets the immigration requirements. One of the immigration laws allows nurses from Mexico and Canada to work in the United States. Therefore, if you are a registered nurse from these two neighboring countries, you can easily offer public health services in the US. The second way of becoming a public health nurse is by applying for a permanent residence. Social injustice in healthcare is characterized by the unfair treatment of different groups of people. For instance, in the United States, the black community complains of unfair treatment compared to white people. Although progress has been made in addressing healthcare social injustices, permanent solutions ought to be provided.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has affected healthcare outcome in the United States. Majority of the United States citizens have been able to access affordable healthcare services. The World Health Organization (WHO) 1946 states that health is not just the absence of disease. According to WHO, promotion and protection of health are vital. Certainly, 1946 WHO constitution provides a framework that is used in public nursing. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), US Department of Health and Human Services (USHHS) and National Institute of Health (NIH) are all healthcare government agencies whose mandate is to protect the health of all the citizens. All these organizations save millions of lives through preparation (making the public aware), identification and prevention of diseases.
