What is a primary goal of community health nursing?

The primary goal of community health nursing is to improve population health outcomes. This focus revolves around understanding and addressing the health needs of entire communities rather than just individual patients. Community health nursing emphasizes prevention, education, and health promotion strategies that can lead to better health for larger groups of people. By engaging with a community as a whole, nurses can identify prevalent health issues, advocate for necessary resources, and implement programs that foster healthy behaviors and environments.

Community health nursing operates on the principle that health is influenced by a variety of factors, including socio-economic status, environment, and access to healthcare. Therefore, the work often involves collaboration with other public health entities and community organizations to address these broader challenges and achieve sustainable health improvements.

Considering the other options, focusing only on individual patient care contradicts the community-oriented nature of the practice. Increasing healthcare costs is counterproductive to the goal of improving access and affordability of health services for all. Limiting healthcare services to specific demographics undermines the goal of inclusivity and equity in health, which are fundamental to community health nursing. By concentrating on enhancing health outcomes for entire populations, community health nurses play a vital role in creating healthier communities.