Public Health Nursing Standards

The National Public Health Performance Standards Program (NPHPSP) provides standards of care for public health nurses to promote the delivery of public health services. Public health nursing standards ensure consistency and quality in the delivery of community-based education, health care and health improvement.

Assessment

• Public health nursing standards identify targeted interventions by reviewing the needs, risks, strengths and requirements of the community population.

Diagnosis

• Public health nurses diagnose individuals and assess community and individual health care needs. The standards rely on evidence-based guidelines that enable nurses to properly evaluate individual and population-based needs.

Intervention

• Nurses create interventions to improve individual and community health for the benefit of the overall population. Public health nursing standards of care focus on interventions that include education, community development and health policy development.

Partnerships

• Public health nurses mobilize community resources and urge organizations to support community outreach and health care. They create relationships with community partners to strengthen the public health nursing role and expand public education and population health management.

Policy Development

• Nursing standards require nurses to develop policies that focus on interventions to protect the general health of the community, and promote community health improvement.