Deck 14: Health Planning for Local Public Health Departments

Question 1

A nurse has been hired by the PHD to perform family planning services. The position was formed as the result of categorical funds obtained from a federal grant. This means that the nurse will need to:

A)Practice according to the guidelines of the federal government.
B)Track time spent in each function to ensure that it meets the grant's requirements.
C)Invoice the grant at the end of the position.
D)Apply for approval from the state and local governments.

Answer 1

Track time spent in each function to ensure that it meets the grant's requirements.

Question 2

A nurse working in a primary care office is caring for a young woman with a new diagnosis of syphilis. The young woman is horrified and asks the nurse if she has to tell anyone about the diagnosis. How should the nurse respond?

A)"Absolutely not. This is your protected health information and I can't release any information unless you give me permission."
B)"I'll need to contact the local health department and they will likely contact your prior sexual partners to be screened as well."
C)"You should call your previous partners, but I can't force you to call anyone."
D)None of the above

Answer 2

"I'll need to contact the local health department and they will likely contact your prior sexual partners to be screened as well."

Question 3

A nurse is beginning employment at a local health department and reviewing the job description and the functions that fall under the purview of the health department. Which of the following is not one of the six minimum functions as named by the American Public Health Association (APHA)?

A)Vital statistics
B)Public health education
C)Promotion of elder health and safety
D)Environmental sanitation

Answer 3

Promotion of elder health and safety

Question 4

A nurse is working with a public health department (PHD). They have set a goal to expand their role by including direct, individualized patient care. The PHD has little to no funding available for this project. Which of the following is a key method that PHD's use to fund provision of direct care?

A)Fundraise with local politicians and key business owners.
B)Provide their services on a voluntary basis in one area of the PHD building.
C)Open a federally qualified health center (FQHC).
D)Adjust their budget in other areas to open funds for the project.

Question 5

A PHN is reviewing the birth data collection forms for birth certificates. The PHN is checking that the forms contain at least which of the following pieces of information? Select all that apply.

A)Number of prenatal visits
B)Parental income
C)Type of delivery
D)Congenital defects
E)Parental education

Question 6

A nurse has just accepted a job with the local public health department. The nurse will be responsible for monitoring and managing the vital statistics. What data will be tracked? Select all that apply.

A)Communicable diseases
B)Births
C)Marriages
D)Divorces
E)Deaths

Question 7

A PHN has accepted a new position with the local PHD. While reviewing the records the PHN notices that the last community health assessment was completed 4 years ago. What should the PHN do?

A)Nothing; the last assessment was only 4 years ago.
B)Perform a brief assessment to become familiar with the community.
C)Perform a full community health assessment, as per protocol.
D)Report the nurses' negligence for failing to keep up with assessments.

Question 8

An occupational nurse has a worker complaining of flu-like symptoms. The CDC had recently released an alert regarding a new strain of influenza that has been at epidemic levels in their city. How does the nurse proceed?

A)Send him home to recover.
B)Send him to his primary care provider (PCP) for diagnosis and let the PCP handle reporting the case to the public health department.
C)Notify the PHD and begin epidemiological screening of his coworkers.
D)None of the above

Question 9

A PHN is presenting a lecture to a group of nursing students about the need for public health nurses. Which of the following statements is correct?

A)Public health workers must be specially credentialed.
B)Compensation is high compared with private sector employment.
C)There are severe shortages in PHN faculty members.
D)Increased funding from the federal government has incentivized recruitment for inner city and rural PHDs.

Question 10

A PHN is working in the public health department in San Diego County. After a recent storm, the department begins to conduct water testing to ensure that the ocean water is safe to swim in. Testing results reveal that the level of bacteria is 10 times the acceptable limit. How does the nurse proceed?

A)Issue a public health statement informing residents of the risk of swimming.
B)Close the beaches until the levels return to normal.
C)Treat the water with anti-microbial agents.
D)Issue a boil water alert.

Question 11

A nurse is evaluating the lack of prenatal care in many of the women in the community. The nurse is looking to obtain information about the rate of certain risk factors in the county. What resource should the nurse check?

A)GIS
B)BRFSS
C)Healthy People 2020
D)CDC

Question 12

A major wildfire has struck a town in California. The firefighters have finally put the fire out, but there are large sections of several communities that have been destroyed. How should the nurse intervene during the immediate recovery phase?

A)Revise the emergency preparedness plans to reflect the problems that have emerged.
B)Go into the community to assess the needs of the displaced residents.
C)Allow the first responders to take control of the situation.
D)None of the above

Question 13

A nurse is teaching a class about public health nursing. A student asks about the core public health functions that help shape the work of public health nurses (PHN) working within the health department. Which of the following is not one of the core public health functions the nurse would list?

A)Diminishment of health disparities within the community
B)Assessment of the population
C)Creation of public health policies to enhance community health
D)Assurance that the public health system runs smoothly

Question 14

A PHN is working with coworkers to track an outbreak of a new virus. They need additional help in visualizing the location and density of the victims. What tool should they consider using?

A)GIS
B)EHR
C)Public health systems
D)A map

Question 15

A nurse working at a PHD received a phone call from a nurse who works on the labor and delivery floor at the local hospital. The nurse reports that they are seeing many more women and their children coming into the hospital with inadequate nutrition. They wish to partner with the PHD on a project that addresses this issue. Where should they begin?

A)Perform a community and cultural assessment to understand the community in which they are working.
B)Send a questionnaire to all of these women to see why they aren't utilizing Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and other governmental services.
C)Place flyers for the WIC program in local physician's office and the lobby of the hospital.
D)Sign up all women who deliver at the hospital for home visits after discharge from the hospital so their home nutrition habits can be assessed.

Question 16

A PHN is reviewing immunization rates for the students in the county. The PHN observes that the rate is significantly lower for incoming kindergartners than it has been in years past. After performing a community assessment, the PHN finds that many of the unvaccinated children have parents who have less than a high school education level and whose income is at or below the poverty level. Which of the following interventions may be successful at boosting immunization rates in the county? Select all that apply.

A)Mandate that all students be vaccinated before starting public school.
B)Provide a list of places where the students can obtain low-cost immunizations.
C)Prepare a parent handout in simple to understand information in a variety of languages.
D)Send home copies of the CDC immunization requirements for the parents to review.
E)Offer a free vaccination clinic at the school for one week.

Question 17

A nurse is looking to improve communication about emergency situations with the young adults aged 18 to 2

A)Radio alerts
B)Television alerts
C)Email alerts
D)Text messages
E) Which of the following methods is likely to be most effective for young adults?

Question 18

A PHN is counseling a young man who has positive acid-fast bacillus (AFB) sputum-smear results. Which of the following statements about what to expect during his TB treatment is incorrect?

A)He will be taking several antibiotics for 6 to 9 months.
B)Since his information is protected health information, persons he has been in contact with will not be interviewed.
C)He will need to be observed taking his medication each day.
D)He will need to be on activity restrictions until he is feeling completely recovered.

Question 19

A nurse wishes to involve the local health department in planning a community-wide intervention. The nurse calls the reception area to determine how best to involve the health department and learns that it is run by the local government in conjunction with the local board of health, also known as a ____ system.

A)Centralized
B)Mixed
C)Decentralized
D)Shared

Question 20

A PHN has decided to use the MAPP tool to address the issue of domestic violence in the community. As the PHD has never used this tool before, the PHN obtains specialized training for which of the following assessment tools? Select all that apply.

A)Community Themes and Strengths Assessment
B)Local Public Health System Assessment
C)Forces of Change Assessment
D)Community Health Status Assessment
E)Cultural Health Assessment