Introduction
The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate community nursing collaboration with faith-based nursing. Faith-based nursing is delivered by various religious or faith-based organizations (FBOs). These organizations have a rich history of autonomously and collaboratively advancing health promotion programs in different areas, including health education, screening for illnesses, management of chronic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, smoking, cancer, mental health conditions, geriatric, and nutritional and lifestyle guidance.
The population considered for this essay is African American in Miami. African Americans are considered underserved by existing health care systems, poor, living in poor conditions, and face socioeconomic hardships relative to whites, for example. As such, they are most likely to experience extreme cases of illnesses and adverse health outcomes.
The Heritage of Health and Healing in Faith Communities
Faith community nursing involves activities aimed at enhancing the health and well-being of wholeness of body, mind, and spirit of individuals, families, and communities across the life span (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). The faith community nursing specialty has long developed heritage in healing and health. From historical perspectives, nursing reflects caring for members of a community. The known explanations of offering care and serving others emanate from communities of faith.
Religious books provide a detailed account of the relevance of caring for the others, especially the less fortunate in society as the foundational element of the faith heritage. Well-being and wholeness with recognition of God have sustained African American believers for long during periods of hardship, stress, illness, and when no interventions seem to work. Thus, faith community nursing is now widely recognized and used by various faith-based organizations to advance health (Whisenant, Cortes, & Hill, 2014).
Faith community nursing is now an inclusive term for all other forms of faith-based nursing activities. The heritage of health and healing, which originates from communities of faith, strives to promote justice, benevolence, mercy, and physical and spiritual healing. While the practice is common in Judeo-Christian communities, it continues to gain traction to meet the diverse needs of faith practices and other global concerns.
For African American believers, a core element of living and appreciating one’s spirituality and religion is considered as a part of a community of faith in a life span. Persons who experience physical, mental, and emotional illnesses and who can rely on their faith and religious practices can improve coping and appreciate spiritual healing and growth. In this regard, faith community nursing promotes resilience among African American believers. Today, numerous faith communities have established their health ministries to promote better health outcomes.
Benefits of Community Nurses Forming Partnerships with Parish Nurses and Faith-Based Communities
Community nurses and faith community nurses can collaborate to improve overall health care outcomes. Community and faith partnerships have proved useful in reaching out to persons in underserved communities by using established strong resources of congregations and community leaders. As trusted individuals, faith and community nurses have effectively communicated health promotion practices involving healthy living, well-being, preventive care, and management of chronic conditions that affect the quality of life.
By concentrating on the unique needs of African Americans, for instance, community and faith-based nursing strive to enhance the health and spiritual well-being of patients. As such, improved access to care and an effective understanding of interventions are noted, leading to the use of specific approaches that work for the community. Better outcomes eventually reduce costs associated with care provision.
The partnership between community and faith nurses and leaders is not new, but it is changing to account for observed challenges. Clergy and other leaders of the faith communities have strived to explain some common myths concerning health care, beliefs, taboos, and other cultural practices, which could challenge faith beliefs. They offer spiritual support, education, prayers, companionship, health care screening, and meals, among others. The partnership strives to improve passion by focusing on spiritual aspects of care and well-being.
Underserved communities usually depend on collaboration among various health systems and institutions to address their various underlying causes of health challenges. Using community and parish partnership, nurses are advancing critical changes that would ensure care is available to communities with the aim of keeping individuals well in communities while treating illnesses in care facilities. In turn, the partnership strives to improve the overall health of people and communities and ensure a better quality of life.
Nurse partnership is seen as a means of enlarging a wide range of alternatives that can be used to improve health. The partnership ensures that health care programs can meet the needs of both faith-based members and secular communities. For instance, the partners can work to provide information on Affordable Care Act to African Americans with limited education, fight obesity, and promote responsible fatherhood among others (Horton, Alvear, & Horton, 2014; Cooper, King, & Sarpong, 2015). It also ensures that disparity in health care is reduced by improved mobilization and utilization of resources. Outreach and education programs strive to mitigate adverse outcomes of health disparities while advancing equality.
Nurses are now leading major changes in hospitals, communities, workplaces, and in churches. They are leveraging faith-based and community resources to transform the care system and ensure that marginalized masses are reached. Both human and financial resources are brought together to assist communities to take control of their well-being and empower individuals using partnership models. Thus, spirituality and faith go beyond reserved preferences and offer novel values to heal body, mind, and spirit (Cipriano, 2014).
Nurse’s Role as Parish Nurse in Faith Communities for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
A major independent role of a parish nurse is that of personal health counselling. In this case, the nurse conducts health risk appraisal, spiritual assessments, plans for healthier living, and offers support and guidance for chronic conditions and other possible health issues. A parish nurse may perform these roles as an individual or in a group by visiting homes, hospitals, and nursing facilities. They also meet clients in faith community places of worship. Although some nurses may have designated offices, others tend to use the most appropriate space to their activities or clients’ needs (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014).
A parish nurse also engages in health education. They perform health education by publishing information to audience, spreading news and information, and presenting a wide range of resources for mental, physical, and spiritual well-being of clients. Additionally, they also conduct classes to address specific health issues, offer individual teaching, hold discussions, advocates for wholeness in health matters, and ensure that individuals understand the relationship among spiritual, body, and mind well-being (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014).
A parish nurse is the liaison between faith-based resources and community resources. As such, they help clients to understand that relevant resources are available to address their health-related issues, determine the most appropriate resources for specific individuals, and link persons with appropriate resources.
A parish nurse is also a facilitator who links the needs of clients to established support centers. They also facilitate changes to enhance accessibility to resources among underserved persons, provide meals, and reach homebound persons. As facilitators, they also work with volunteers and train others, including lay caregivers.
Finally, a parish nurse also performs the role of pastoral care by emphasizing the spiritual aspect of nursing and providing support during both difficult and joyful moments. In fact, the ultimate goal is to ensure intentional, compassionate care, according to the spiritual aspect of care to humanity.
How Communities of Faith May Include Healthy People 2020 Guidelines in Program Planning
One novel community-based activity to promote health is the faith community nursing, and parish nurses strive to support some Healthy People 2020 initiatives. For African Americans in Miami, chronic conditions are significantly higher relative to whites. Communities of faith can help African Americans to make better food choices, improve lifestyle, and be more physically active. Churches can start by creating healthier church environments by developing favorable policy programs for change.
Communities of faith therefore strive to address some interventions, such as the promotion of daily physical activity, good nutrition, and emotional health and well-being in Healthy People 2020. In fact, current studies show that attempts to enhance health in faith-based communities reach more individuals and have significant outcomes to curtail health disparities due to influences of churches on member behaviors and practices (Pappas-Rogich & King, 2014). Faith-based communities now target physical activities and better lifestyles through food choices to reduce diabetes, obesity, and overweight among African Americans. Parish nurses now educate church leaders and followers on specific policies that can advance healthy food choices at church events and encourage healthy diets at all times. Further, they carry out regular health screening for some conditions involving blood pressure, blood sugar, and body mass index among others.
Additionally, communities of faith can promote more intervention programs, research, and evidence-based practices to support Healthy People 2020 initiatives (Callaghan, 2015). Parish nurses can also provide various strategies to measure and record intervention results. Faith community nurses will also collaborate to support intervention programs for the promotion of health across life span as envisioned in Healthy People 2020.
Legal, Ethical, or Financial Issues Related to Parish Nursing
Issues may emanate from clients, communities of faith, and other professional relations. From legal issue perspective, parish nurses are seen as advocates of rights. Therefore, they must identify and report neglect, abuse, and illegal acts and subsequently report to relevant authorities, refer clients to the best resources, and determine the best solutions in cases of conflict of interest. Thus, the nurse is personally and professionally expected to abide by laws and regulations in their jurisdictions.
For ethical issues, nurses must observe Code for Nurses, statement of faith and uphold individual and group rights and polity of the faith served. They should identify areas of ethical concerns, plan and note the best ethical options, support clients to choose the best options to help them to cope with their conditions, allow clients to advance in health and faith, and apply virtue ethics in decision-making processes.
Finally, fiscal issues generally focus on resource allocations to serve majorities of the underserved in society. Overall, confidentiality, privacy, access, individual and group concerns, and record management remain critical issues for parish nurses.
References
Callaghan, D. M. (2015). The development of a faith community nursing intervention to promote health across the life span. International Journal of Faith Community Nursing, 1(2), 9-20.
Cipriano, P. F. (2014). Faith, community, and health: Partnerships with good neighbors. American Nurse Today, 9(2).
Cooper, K. C., King, M. A., & Sarpong, D. F. (2015). Tipping the scales on obesity: Church-based health promotion for African American women. Journal of Christian Nursing, 32(1), 41-45. doi:10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000132
Horton, S. E., Alvear, E. E., & Horton, D. L. (2014). Health ministry partnerships: Creating a habit for health. Journal of Christian Nursing, 31(1), 28–34. doi:10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000030
Pappas-Rogich, M., & King, M. (2014). Faith community nursing: Supporting Healthy People 2020 initiatives. Journal of Christian Nursing, 31(4), E12–E13. doi:10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000125
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2014). Foundations of nursing in the community: Community-oriented practice. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Whisenant, D., Cortes, C., & Hill, J. (2014). Is faith-based health promotion eeffective? Results from two programs. Journal of Christian Nursing, 31(3), 188-93. doi:10.1097/CNJ.0b013e3182a5f5a2