Community assessment: an innovative approach.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Community Health

Background:

• Community health assessment is a core competency for baccalaureate nursing students.
• Repeatedly assigning students to the same community can lead to negative impacts on the community, students, and faculty.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore a method for developing community health assessment skills in baccalaureate nursing students using a distant community.
• To provide an alternative to repetitive local assignments that may harm the community.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the internet for research and information gathering about a distant community.
• Communicating with key informants in the distant community via telephone.
• Reviewing resource materials collected from the target community.
• Leveraging prior instructor visitation to the community.
• Collaborating with university reference librarians.

Main Results:

• A distant community can be effectively used for nursing students' skill development in community health assessment.
• The described methods facilitate comprehensive learning despite geographical distance.
• Successful implementation requires instructor preparation and librarian support.

Conclusions:

• Baccalaureate nursing students can successfully develop community health assessment skills through remote engagement with a distant community.
• This approach mitigates the negative effects of repetitive local assignments.
• Effective use of technology, communication, and preparatory resources are crucial for success.