To address mental health at the community level I would creatively problem solve to encourage community connection- since social isolation greatly impacts mental health. I would create a program to target individuals with mental health diagnosis's that mimics programs at local senior centers. This would include health promotion and programs on topics of interest and group outings. Since community populations are unique, I would work with the community to assess their interests- but sports events or museum outings could be a possibility. I would work with the community to find their interests and work with organizations to find donations- such as free tickets to events.

I think this is a creative solution to help encourage engagement and build needed relationships for these individuals.

I would use the leadership characteristic of communication by holding informational meetings with the public regarding heart health. During these meetings people will be educated on risk factors, healthy changes that can be made, and signs/symptoms of heart disease.  This health promotion intervention utilizes communication of the nurse to the community. 

-Karisma Danguilan

In my own practice I would use visionary leadership to create health promotion interventions for an aggregate by first establishing a shared vision of optimal health and well being. I would engage community members, healthcare providers, policy makers, and local organizations. This will help collab with them and create strategies. I would also articulate compelling vision for the desired future state of population health. This would require emphasizing preventative measures, health promotion activities, and community empowerment. By inspiring others with vision, I would foster a sense of collective purpose and commitment to improving health outcomes.

Having health education campaigns, partnership with local schools or businesses to promote healthy behaviors or even advocating for policy changes to create supportive environments.

I would continuously communicate the vision, monitor progress towards goals, and adapt strategies to alignment with overarching vision of population health improvement. By demonstrating visionary leadership. I would also mobilize resources and build partnership to empower individuals and communities to actively participate in their own health promotion.

Cultural competence. Population-focused nurses must understand and address the unique cultural, social, and economic factors influencing health within diverse communities. In the ICU where I work, this competence is critical for developing culturally sensitive health promotion interventions that respect patients' beliefs, values, and preferences. For instance, a population-focused nurse can collaborate with ICU staff to ensure that educational materials and interventions are culturally appropriate and accessible to patients from different cultural backgrounds.

In addition, they can advocate for interpreter services or cultural liaisons to facilitate communication and enhance patient engagement in health promotion activities.

A Delphi'a survey shows that an exceptional nursing leader exhibits the attribution of being a change agent (Jivraj Shariff, 2015). Nursing leaders play a vital role in driving positive change within healthcare organizations, clinical settings, and communities. For instance, a change agent leads quality improvement initiatives aimed at enhancing patient care, or advocates for the development of policies at local and national levels that promote health equity. Jivraij Shariff (2015) suggests that policy development is an essential core function of a population-focused nurse and it also serves as an important determinant of an effective leader. Another reason being a change agent is a critical characteristic of nursing leadership is to inspire and empower others to embrace changes and strive for innovation and excellence in nursing practice.

I am currently practicing perioperative nursing and I am not a formal leader. I believe that by acting as a change agent, I can contribute to enhancing outcomes for surgical patients. For instance, I participate as a member of my Unit-Based Council, I collect my coworkers' thoughts on opportunities and areas for improving patient safety before, during, and after surgery. During my research, I found that incorrect surgical site marking has become a significant concern at my work. I present several strategies to address the problem. These strategies include double-checking to verify the accuracy of surgical site marking and the patient's identity, surgical site, and procedure should be addressed during the time-out and before the start of the surgery. A reason for this problem is time pressure can lead to shortcuts in safety checks including double-checking surgical site markings. Hence, healthcare professionals should allocate enough time for safety and checks during surgical time-outs and music stops during time-outs to prevent distraction. Besides the surgical team should be allocated sufficient time to verify surgical marking

Reference

Jivraj Shariff, N. (2015). A Delphi survey of leadership attributes necessary for national nurse leaders’ participation in health policy development: an East African perspective. BMC Nursing, 14(1), 13–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-015-0063-0

In my practice of proving hospice and palliative care to geriatric patients, passionate leadership can ensure these patients get compassionate, ethical, empathetic, and quality care. Passionate leaders want their team to be passionate as well, because when nurses go into the field for wrong reasons then patient centeredness care and quality is reduced. CHN's can't make change to better the community if they don't care about alleviating heath disparities. A passionate leader will recruit passionate nurses to work alongside, they will be engaged in their community to seek out their needs and make it their goal to help these people obtain their needs. Passionate leaders will go that extra step to help this community achieve well-being. For instance, in hospice care, a passionate leader will ensure that hospice patients understand what hospice is and what it offers through community meetings or one-on-one meetings, they will also ensure competent nurses care for these patients in their final moments and they will ensure the needs of this patient/family were addressed and taken care of within reason.

In my practice, I could use efficiency in many ways. lets say my aggregate group in my practice is post-op surgical patients. I can use efficiency by clustering care, prioritizing certain interventions, and communicating with the care team/patient to save me time to create new interventions, education, and critical think to better serve my patients.

I would use respect to develop population-focused interventions through the utilization of trust and understanding. When people resepct you, they trust your decision and advice. This is noticed in my practice setting when administering chemotherapy or advocating for further testing on patients. Parents adapt to fast-paced changes better when they have a nurse or physician they trust guiding the change.

Advocacy can be used to create health promotion interventions for all aggregates. I work on the Labor and Delivery unit and a big part of patient care is advocating for our patients to different types of physicians, such as the Obstetricians and the anesthesiologists. There are so many times where a patient will speak up to the nurse before the physician. In a way, the nurse is the middle man and by getting the adequate information and patient condition to the physicians, the nurse advocates for her patient. An example of advocacy on L&D would be a patient wanting an epidural, while still in early labor. As a nurse, I would advocate for my patient to get an epidural when they need it vs. when the doctor would like for it to get placed. This ensures that my patient has a great birth experience, minimal pain, and a better outcome mentally and physically.

A characteristic that is important in population-focused nursing is trustworthiness. It is important because to have a healthy patient-nurse dynamic patients must be able to trust your judgement, trust your advocacy, and rely on you to provide them the best quality care. Trust is a very fragile thing, and it can have major impacts on patient outcome. If a patient feels they can not trust the nurses or practitioners caring for them this could result in missed appointments, inconsistencies with medication adherence, denial of new symptoms, and many other issues.

 I use trustworthiness in my own practice to help build a strong rapport with my patients. Allowing my patients to feel safe and supported, and show them that there is someone who has their best interest is working diligently to help them recover. In the OR, I have very limited exchange with my patients, but those few moments I have are crucial. I enter their pre-op room and introduce myself, I ensure I ask them questions and acknowledge them and not just the parents, and I find something to help ease their anxiety such as music or a tv show they can watch on my phone as we roll back to the operating room. For smaller infants, I ask the parents if they think their child will be more comfortable being held or laying down in the crib, so that parents feel a sense of some relief that their child is in good hands. On our way to the operating room I try to engage in conversation to allow the child an opportunity to ask questions or simply talk to release any anxiety. Once in the operating room, I make sure to talk my patients through every step that is happening until they fall asleep as to avoid causing anymore anxiety.

An informal characteristic would be something like empathy or even good listening skills. With either of those characteristics, you can potentially change someone's day by just listening to them when they need to let out their frustrations. Even just being able to understand what they are going through will help.

In my practice setting, I would utilize empathy to develop tailored health promotion interventions for the targeted aggregate. By understanding their unique needs, cultural backgrounds, and challenges, I would design interventions that foster trust, address barriers, and empower individuals and communities to take charge of their health. Through collaboration, cultural sensitivity, and continuous evaluation, these interventions would not only improve health outcomes but also promote inclusivity and respect for the diverse perspectives within the population.

In my practice setting, low-income families are a significant aggregate. I would use the nursing leadership characteristic of advocacy to promote health by conducting a thorough assessment to understand the specific health needs and challenges faced by this community. This would involve engaging with community members, local organizations, and public health agencies to gather insights into their lived experiences, health behaviors, and access to healthcare services. With data and insights from the assessment, I would advocate for policy changes at various levels of government to address the root causes of health disparities affecting the community. This could involve advocating for increased funding for community health centers, expansion of Medicaid coverage, implementation of zoning policies to increase access to fresh produce, or initiatives to improve housing conditions.

I would use listening to promote health in my practice by ensuring that my team makes follow-up calls with surgical patients. I also ensure that my team members practice active listening and provide necessary feedback when patients do not have ideal experiences after surgery. I would also promote listening to my team by ensuring that the operating room nurses have monthly meetings and fifteen-minute morning huddles twice weekly. This is very important because when nurses work in surgery, the circulators have little time to talk to each other. After all, we don’t work with each other very often. For most of the day, the circulators are confined to their assigned ORs; this can create a sense of isolation, which can be unhealthy for the work environment. Regular meetings with leadership actively listening and responding to concerns can create a more pleasant and positive work environment.

In my NICU practice setting, collaboration plays a pivotal role in developing interventions to support premature infants' developmental needs. By working closely with neonatologists, developmental specialists, and social workers, we can create tailored care plans that address the unique medical, emotional, and developmental requirements of each infant. Through collaboration, NICU nurses can ensure continuity of care, optimize outcomes, and provide holistic support to families throughout their NICU journey, ultimately promoting the health and well-being of the newborns in our care.

I work in the CVICU and always utilize collaborative communication to engage with various services involved in the patients care team. This facilitates communication between service and the patient. I ensure to address my concerns and share ideas.

As a nurse in the ED, communication with the patient and the health care team is crucial for patient care and survival. The ED MD has so many patients to see and work with, they rely on the nurses to be able to efficiently communicate with the MD to get the patient the right care quickly.

In practice, I've seen the impact of compassionate presence on our trauma patients. For example, organizing a support group for survivors of serious accidents allows them to share their experiences and find solace in knowing they're not alone. We bring in a mindfulness instructor to teach techniques for managing the stress and anxiety that often accompany traumatic events. Collaborating with our chaplaincy provides an avenue for those seeking spiritual guidance or simply a listening ear. These interventions, while not traditional medical treatments, are crucial for addressing the emotional and spiritual dimensions of suffering. As a trauma nurse, I also advocate for policies that support our patients outside the hospital, ensuring they have access to resources for long-term recovery. Through compassionate presence and holistic care, we promote healing in our trauma unit, helping our patients navigate the journey to recovery.

For example, if you want to start an educational class for patients with diabetes, you could reach out to a doctor to discuss what diabetes is and how it affects the body. Then, you could contact a dietitian to provide classes on food preparation and how to count carbohydrates. You can also collaborate with the local health department to donate supplies to patients who can't afford glucometers or provide vouchers or discounts.

A way I use this intervention in the hospital I work with is we work with teamwork and collaboration is as a nurse we ask the patients questions of determinate of health, so we asked them about their housing situation and food situation at home. If the patient answers to those questions as needing help, then an alert will be sent to the care coordinator to get resources for the patient. We also work with dieticians, to help educate patient on diet and can collaborate with them to make sure the patient is eating enough or things that we can do to improve the patient’s diet.