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In this paper, I will be explaining my perception of my community placement in the context of community as partner by reflecting on my interactions with a target group of the population which include pre and post natal mothers who are in vulnerable situations In the community. I will also describe this group of population using various sources and share some experiences which helped me gain an insight into their lived experiences and the health issues and concerns within this group with the intention of enacting different health promotional strategies to address some of their deeds.
In developing my learning goal, I had to assess the needs of this target group (which include pregnant teenagers or adults 21 years of and under, cognitively impaired pregnant women, pregnant women who are homeless, pregnant women with a history of mental illness, and pregnant women who are newcomers or have been less than 3 years In Canada are isolated and having their first child) by using the Family Assessment Instrument tool to Identify certain Indicators that put these mothers at risk for ineffective parenting.
In doing this, I have to take into inconsideration that different clients have their different needs and how to go about working with these mothers in order to help promote positive parent-child relation so as to achieve optimal growth and development of their children. After carrying out my assessment on a majority of these mothers, I found out that low income, poor housing and living conditions, low educational status, lack of social support were some of the principal factors amongst these women who were predominantly first time mothers.
These factors if not properly addressed could hinder effective renting, so I It Imperative to develop my learning goal on Increasing parental knowledge on the growth and development of their babies. Infancy is the foundation or period when important physical, emotional, intellectual and social changes take place In a child’s life especially during the first year of life; therefore a healthy Infancy will set the pace for a healthy adulthood.
In developing my learning plan, I choose the concept of growth and development because promoting growth and development is crucial to babies and infants especially during the first years of their lives. This is cause the first year of life is the period when the child has the most dramatic growth In physical, cognitive, motor, emotional and communicative aspects of their lives.
Therefore, helping these parents by educating them in identifying the possible health concerns and reading the cues of these babies will serve as an important measure in promoting their growth and development. Furthermore, promoting children’s growth and development will enable them to reach their full life potential and to develop the skills required to help them get through life. Evidences that will be used to guide achieve my learning objective will be the use f an educational chart that I will use as a teaching tool to guide parents on reading the different cues of their babies.
This chart will Include specific information on breastfeeding/formula, sleep position, cuddling and holding the baby skin-to-skin, tummy time, talking and reading to their children, baby’s safety which all improve 1 OFF children. I addition, I also had in mind how this chart is going to serve as an educational tool and as a reference guide to increase the knowledge of these parents on reading their babies cues and promoting attachment which is an important factor n promoting the growth and development of their children.
In this process, I will also learn about the different aspects of the developmental milestones of children, thus enhancing my knowledge on children’s growth and development. In planning my evidences to meet my learning objective, I need to take into consideration that not every body within my client population can read or write. Also, to build a trusting relationship and get the client’s actively involved, ensure there is respect and understanding for their different cultural practices in order to respond o their identified needs.
Using an interactive approach, I am going to explore with each family their understanding of their infant’s health condition, its impact on the family, their expectations on issues such as family supports and care coordination, and their hopes for the child in achieving healthy growth and development. According to CHINA (201 1), active involvement and collaboration in planning by those affected is a critical component which helps in building on their strength, skills, and knowledge and this is a fundamental aspect in community nursing.
Active involvement of the client in this process will require readiness from the client and will as well enable the nurse to communicate with and respect every individual’s opinions and to address their priorities and concerns rather than imposing one’s beliefs and values on the clients. Furthermore, CHINA (2011) points out that building individual and community capacity can be achieved by actively involving and collaborating with the individuals, families, groups, organizations, populations, communities and systems.
Therefore, my role as a nurse is to collaborate with these linens through education, which will help in building their confidence and self esteem thereby helping them in promoting healthy growth and development of their children. In effecting this plan, I have to use an upstream approach in addressing the different social determinants of health affecting the different population group which include; low income, poor housing condition, low educational status.
According to Denny and Browne (2010), children from low income families are more likely to be born at low birth weight, are more exposed to injuries, have higher rates of disease ND disability, have mental and behavioral problems, and often start school in a less- developed state of readiness to learn than their better-off counterparts. Furthermore, material deprivation may affect health in that; household income, for example, is linked to affordable accommodation, food security, and vulnerability to effects of heat and cold.
Therefore, identifying the social, economic and environmental factors that perpetuate the development of illnesses or hinder the growth and development of these children will play an important role in the planning process in order to achieve optimum growth and development of these children. Additionally, many families may need assistance with referrals, financial assistance, and other types of supports, this is going to be given due consideration in planning my evidence. In order to implement my evidence, I will need to work in close collaboration with the family home visitor, the occupational therapist and the parents themselves.
In working with this diverse client group, I will need to consider their different cultural, educational group I work with are mostly single parents with very low levels of education, having title or no knowledge of the official languages, are unemployed, and therefore living on social assistance in other to meet their needs. Cohen (2012) further notes, that low-income, language barrier and low educational level are some of the determinants of health that are detrimental to the health of both the mother and the baby.
Some of the ethical considerations to be taken into account when developing my learning objective include assuring clients’ confidentiality is maintained, respecting clients’ values and dignity, and ensuring the health and well-being these parents so that heir children can obtain an optimal level of growth and development. The development of my evidences aligns with the Community Health Nursing Standards of Practice in that it entails health promotion and teaching.
One of the health promotion strategies that I will be taken into consideration is to enhance parental skills by providing them with information that will be used to help them better connect and build the parent-child relationship. CHINA(2011) points out that using a client centered approach, assisting clients to identify their strengths, accessing lath resources for the purpose of facilitating change within the individual, family, group, community, and population is of utmost importance in health promotion.
Therefore, developing personal skills is a pertinent strategy because this helps in supporting personal and social development through the provision of information to these mothers which increases their knowledge and therefore promotes effective parenting. Effective health promotion strategies will also ensure that the physical, cognitive and emotional health of these children are protected, as well as protecting hem from infectious diseases and injuries, while supporting healthy growth and development of their children.
According to Cohen (2012), health promotion is the primary goal of community health nursing. My role as a community health nurse is to educate and assist these parents in reading and identifying the different cues of their babies, and therefore developing a secure attachment which is imperative for optimal child development. Therefore, successful health promotion efforts should take into account the developmental reality of these children now as well as placement potentials and expectations for growth in the future.
My personal learning so far is that it impresses me to get to know the importance of reaching out to the community and providing them with the necessary health education and they felt the need to learn more about the growth and development of their children. Also, developing a respectful, trusting and caring human relationship is of utmost importance and is an important element required for promoting the health of individuals and the community. These are some of the values I intend to integrate onto my practice as I look forward to working in partnership with the community for the remaining half of the semester.