Arab Board Community Health Nursing Part 1 key terms

A field of nursing that combines nursing practice with public health science to protect and improve the health of whole populations, with emphasis on groups, families, and communities rather than only individual sick patients.

A three-tier framework describing when health action is taken: primary prevention acts before disease occurs, secondary prevention detects and treats early disease, and tertiary prevention limits disability and restores function after disease is established.

The number of new cases of a disease that arise in a defined population during a specified period, divided by the population at risk. It measures how fast new disease is occurring.

The total number of existing cases of a disease in a defined population at a given point in time or over a period, divided by the total population. It reflects disease burden rather than speed of occurrence.

The proportion of a defined group that develops a disease during a limited outbreak or exposure period, calculated as new cases divided by the population exposed. It is used to describe explosive outbreaks such as food poisoning.

The ability of a screening or diagnostic test to correctly identify people who truly have the condition, expressed as true positives divided by all people with the disease. A highly sensitive test produces few false negatives.

The ability of a test to correctly identify people who do not have the condition, expressed as true negatives divided by all people without the disease. A highly specific test produces few false positives.

The presumptive identification of unrecognised disease or risk factors in apparently healthy people using tests that can be applied rapidly, so that those with positive results can be referred for confirmation and treatment.

Crude rates describe events in a whole population without correction; adjusted (standardised) rates remove the effect of differences in age or other structure so that populations with different compositions can be compared fairly.

The process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health, through actions directed at populations and at the social, economic, and environmental conditions that shape health, not only at individual behaviour.

Five strategies for health promotion set out in 1986: build healthy public policy, create supportive environments, strengthen community action, develop personal skills, and reorient health services. Together they guide community health programme design.

Planned learning activities that give people the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to make informed decisions about their health. It is one tool within the wider scope of health promotion.

The degree to which a person can obtain, understand, judge, and use health information and services to make decisions about their own and their family's health. Low health literacy is linked to poorer outcomes and is a target for nursing intervention.

The package of regular health assessments, screening, education, and preventive care provided to a pregnant woman from conception to the onset of labour, aimed at detecting complications early and preparing the woman and family for birth and parenting.

Care of the mother and newborn in the weeks after birth, covering monitoring for haemorrhage and infection, breastfeeding support, family planning advice, mental health checks, and newborn assessment and immunisation.

Feeding an infant only breast milk, with no other foods or liquids including water, for the first six months of life, after which appropriate complementary foods are introduced while breastfeeding continues.

Regular measurement and plotting of a child's weight, height, and head circumference against standard reference charts to detect faltering growth, undernutrition, or obesity early and trigger timely intervention.

The nationally recommended timetable specifying which vaccines should be given at which ages, including doses, intervals, and catch-up rules, used to ensure children and at-risk groups receive complete protection.

Treatment of dehydration from diarrhoea using a balanced solution of salts and glucose given by mouth, together with continued feeding and zinc where recommended. It is a low-cost intervention that prevents most diarrhoea deaths.

The linked system of refrigerated storage and transport that keeps vaccines within a safe temperature range from manufacture to the point of use, preserving their potency and preventing vaccine failure.

Indirect protection of unvaccinated people that arises when a sufficiently high proportion of a population is immune, so that chains of transmission are interrupted and outbreaks are unlikely to spread.

The continuous, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data, and the timely dissemination of findings to those who need to act, so that outbreaks and trends are detected and responded to promptly.

A disease for which health workers are legally required to report cases to public health authorities, enabling surveillance, contact tracing, and control measures. Lists vary by country.

The process of identifying people who have been exposed to an infectious case, assessing and monitoring them, and offering preventive treatment or isolation as needed, in order to break onward transmission.

A structured field response to an unusual increase in cases: verify the diagnosis and confirm the excess, define and find cases, describe the pattern, generate and test hypotheses, then implement and evaluate control measures.

A characteristic, exposure, or behaviour that is statistically associated with an increased probability of developing a disease, and which may be modifiable through prevention, such as smoking, poor diet, or physical inactivity.

A coordinated approach in which assessment, medication, self-management support, lifestyle counselling, and regular follow-up for long-term conditions are delivered together through a planned, team-based programme rather than fragmented visits.

Interventions that build a person's confidence and skills to manage a chronic condition day to day, such as goal setting, action planning, problem solving, and peer programmes, with the health worker acting as partner rather than instructor.

The extent to which a person's behaviour, such as taking medication, attending appointments, or following a plan, matches the agreed recommendation. It is assessed without blame and improved by simplifying regimens and addressing barriers.

Essential health care made accessible at a cost the community and country can afford, based on practical, scientifically sound, and socially acceptable methods, delivered as close as possible to where people live and work and forming the first point of contact with the system.

A health system goal in which all people receive the quality health services they need, including promotion, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation, without suffering financial hardship from paying for them.

The organised process and agreed pathways by which a patient moves from one level of care to another, such as from a health post to a district hospital and back, with clear criteria, communication, and feedback at each step.

A systematic process of gathering data about a community's population, health status, environment, resources, and priorities, often using surveys, records, and key informant interviews, to plan services that match real needs.

The active involvement of community members in identifying their health problems, planning and delivering services, and evaluating results, which increases ownership, relevance, and sustainability of health programmes.

A person's voluntary agreement to examination, treatment, or research participation after receiving and understanding adequate information about purpose, risks, benefits, and alternatives, given without coercion and while competent to decide.

The ethical and legal duty to keep personal health information private and to share it only with those who need it for care, with the patient's consent or where the law requires disclosure.

Core moral standards guiding practice: autonomy (respecting choice), beneficence (doing good), non-maleficence (avoiding harm), justice (fair treatment and resource distribution), and veracity (truthfulness). They are applied through ethical reasoning in everyday decisions.

Any workplace agent or condition, such as chemicals, noise, radiation, biological material, ergonomic strain, or violence, that can cause injury or illness to workers. Community nurses identify, assess, and advise on controlling these risks.

The ranked order of ways to reduce workplace and environmental hazards: eliminate the hazard, substitute it, engineer it out, change administrative procedures, and lastly rely on personal protective equipment.

Specialised clothing or equipment such as gloves, masks, goggles, and gowns worn to protect the wearer from exposure to hazards. It is the least effective control because it depends on correct and consistent use.

Access to water free of harmful contamination together with safe disposal of human waste, which together prevent a large share of diarrhoeal and other communicable diseases. They are basic environmental health prerequisites for community health.

A humane, supportive response to a person in acute distress after a crisis, involving listening without pressure, assessing needs, offering practical help, and linking to services, without forcing disclosure or providing formal therapy.

A social process in which people with a condition such as mental illness are labelled, devalued, and excluded, leading to shame, secrecy, and delayed help-seeking. Anti-stigma education and contact with affected people reduce it.

Mental health care delivered outside hospitals and close to where people live, emphasising promotion, early detection, outreach, home-based support, rehabilitation, and integration of mental health into general and primary services.

Clinical decision making that integrates the best available research evidence, the nurse's professional expertise, and the patient's values and preferences, rather than relying on tradition or habit alone.