The Role of Public Health Nurses


Many roles can be performed by Public Health Nurses are:

1. As a service provider (Care provider)

Provide nursing care through reviewing the existing nursing problems, nursing action plan, implement and evaluate nursing care actions, which have been given to individuals, families, groups and communities.


2. As an educator and consultant (Nurse Educator and Counselor)

Provide health education to individuals, families, groups and communities both in the home, community health centers, and in society as organized in order to instill healthy behavior, resulting in a change of behavior as expected in achieving optimal health status.

Counseling is the process of helping the client to recognize and cope with psychological distress or social issues to establish good interpersonal relationships and to increase one's progress. In it are given emotional support and intellectual.

The teaching process has four components: assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation. This is consistent with the nursing process in the assessment phase of a nurse assess patient's learning needs and readiness to learn. During the planning nurses make specific goals and teaching strategies. During the implementation of the nurse implement teaching strategies and for evaluation of the nurse assess the results that have been obtained


3. As a role model (Role Models)

Public health nurses should be able to give a good example in the field of health to individuals, families, groups and the public about how healthy the way of life that can be imitated and emulated by the public.


4. As defenders (Client Advocate)

Defense can be given to an individual, group or community level. At the family level, nurses can perform its functions through social services in the community. A client advocate is an advocate of the rights of clients. Defense including an increase in what is best for clients, ensuring client needs are met and to protect the rights of clients (Mubarak, 2005).

The task of the nurse as a client advocate is responsible for assisting clients and families in interpreting information from a variety of service providers to provide information and other things necessary to take approval (Informed Concent) on nursing actions given to him. Another task is to preserve and protect the rights of the client, because the client must be sick and hospitalized will interact with many health workers.


5. As a case manager (Case Manager)

Public health nurses are expected to manage a variety of health services and community health centers in accordance with the burden of the duties and responsibilities imposed upon him.


6. As collaborators

The role of the nurse as a collaborator can be implemented by means of cooperation with other healthcare teams, both with doctors, nutritionists, radiologists, and others in relation to help speed up the healing process of collaboration or cooperation measures client is a decision-making process with others on the stage of the nursing process . This action plays a very important to plan the actions that will be implemented (Mubarak, 2005).


7. As planners further action (Discharge Planner)

Discharge planning can be provided to a client who has been undergoing treatment at a medical institution or hospital. This plan can be provided to clients who have experienced improved health conditions.


8. As identifiers health problems (Case Finder)

Implement monitoring of the changes that occur in individuals, families, groups and communities on issues of health and nursing as well as the resulting impact on health status through home visits, meetings, observation and data collection.


9. As a health services coordinator (Coordinator of Services)

The role of the nurse as a coordinator among others, direct, plan and organize health services provided to clients. Service of all members of the health team, because the client receives the services of many professionals.


10. As the carrier changes or reformer and leader (Change Agent and Leader)

Agents for Change is a person or group who initiate change or help others to make a change in him or in the system. Torney Marriner describes that the carrier change is that identifying the problem, assessing client's motivation and ability to change, suggesting alternatives, explore the possibility of alternative outcomes, reviewing resources, demonstrate the role of help, build and maintain relationship help, help during the phase of the change process and guiding clients through these phases.

Improvement and change is an essential component of treatment. By using the nursing process, the nurse helps clients to plan, implement and maintain such a change: knowledge, skills, feelings and behaviors that can improve health.


11. As an identifier and community service providers (Community Care Provider And Researcher)

This role is included in the process of nursing care services to the community which includes assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of health problems and solving the given problem. Search action or identifying other health problems are also part of the role of community nurses.


Source : (Mubarak, 2005)

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