Community and Public Health Nursing 9th Edition Test Bank

1. After teaching a group of nursing students about the similarities and differences between
public health and community health, which of the following statements by a nursing
student would indicate knowledge of the similarities and differences between public
health and community health?
A) “Community health nursing is defined as nursing care that is provided in a
community setting, rather than an institutional setting.”
B) “Public health nursing is defined as nursing care that is provided in an
institutional setting.”
C) “Public health nursing is focused on the health of individuals.”
D) “Community health nursing can shape the quality of community health services
and improve the health of the general public.”
Ans: D
Feedback:
Operating within an environment of rapid change and increasingly complex challenges,
this nursing specialty holds the potential to shape the quality of community health
services and improve the health of the general public.
2. Which of the following statements would best describe the difference between public
health nursing and community health nursing?
A) Public health nursing is focused on the private aspects of health, and community
health nursing is focused on the public aspects of health.
B) In our textbook, the term community health practice refers to a focus on specific,
designated communities and is a part of the larger public health effort.
C) Public health nursing and community health nursing relate to the very same types
of services and perspectives.
D) Both public health nursing and community health nursing are practiced
exclusively within institutions.
Ans: B
Feedback:
In this textbook, community health practice refers to a focus on specific, designated
communities. It is a part of the larger public health effort and recognizes the
fundamental concepts and principles of public health as its birthright and foundation for
practice. Public health nursing is focused on the public aspects of health. Public health
nursing and community health nursing have distinctive types of services and
perspectives. Neither public health nursing nor community health nursing is practiced
exclusively within institutions.

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3. Which of the following is most accurate about the concept of community?
A) A community is a collection of people who share some important features of their
lives.
B) Community members live in the same geographic location.
C) Community members are biologically related.
D) A community is made up of people who do not necessarily interact with one
another and do not necessarily share a sense of belonging to that group.
Ans: A
Feedback:
The broad definition of a community is a collection of people who share some important
features of their lives. Community members may not live in the same geographic
location as in a common-interest community or a community of solution. A population
is made up of people who do not necessarily interact with one another and do not
necessarily share a sense of belonging to that group.
4. A group of students are reviewing material for a test on populations, communities, and
aggregates. Which of the following indicates that the students understand these
concepts?
A) Members of a population share a sense of belonging.
B) Communities and populations are types of aggregates.
C) Individuals of a community are loosely connected.
D) Members of an aggregate share a strong bond.
Ans: B
Feedback:
An aggregate refers to a mass of grouping of distinct individuals who are considered as
a whole and who are loosely associated with one another. Communities and populations
are types of aggregates. A population is made up of people who do not necessarily
interact with one another and do not necessarily share a sense of belonging to the group.
A community is a collection of people who chose to interact with one another because
of common interests, characteristics, or goals, which form the basis for a sense of unity
or belonging.

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5. Which of the following would a community health nurse identify as a community of
common interest?
A) The global community
B) Small rural town in a northern state
C) National professional organization
D) Counties addressing water pollution
Ans: C
Feedback:
A common-interest community shares a common interest or goal that binds the
members together. Membership in a national professional organization is one example.
The global community and a small rural town in a northern state would be examples of a
geographic community. Counties addressing a water pollution problem would be an
example of a community of solution.
6. The nurse is working with a community of solution. Which of the following would the
nurse expect to find?
A) A health problem affecting the group
B) Common goal binding members together
C) Sharing of a similar goal
D) Locational boundaries
Ans: A
Feedback:
A community of solution involves a group of people coming together to solve a problem
that affects them. A common-interest community involves a collection of people widely
scattered geographically who have an interest or goal that binds the members together.
A geographical community is one defined by its geographical or locational boundaries.
7. Which one of the following statements made by a student would the nurse educator
recognize as evidence that a student understands the health continuum?
A) The distinction between health and illness is well demarcated.
B) Illness refers to a state of being relatively unhealthy.
C) The term health is limited to reflect an individual’s state.
D) Treatment of acute conditions reflects the current focus of health care.
Ans: B
Feedback:
Although society typically depicts an absolute line of difference between being either
well or ill, health is considered a relative term. Thus, illness is viewed as a state of being
relatively unhealthy. Health is typically described as a continuum that involves a range
of degrees from optimal health at one end to total disability or death at the other. The
line of demarcation is not clear. Health applies to individuals, families, and
communities. Traditionally, most health care has focused on the treatment of acute and
chronic conditions at the illness end of the continuum, but this emphasis is shifting to
focus on the wellness end.