The concept of public health has a long and distinguished history within the nursing
profession. In 1893 Lillian Wald coined the term “public health nursing” to describe
the teams of nurses who worked outside the hospital (Reverby, 1993). The main idea
behind public health nursing was prevention of diseases for those who did not have
access to medical care. Florence Nightingale (Figure 1-1) was instrumental in the
creation of the position of “district nurse” whose primary responsibility was to promote
health and prevent diseases through nursing care and education (Monteiro,
1985). According to the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (1991),
the goals of public health nursing are to promote, protect, and restore the health of
populations as well as to prevent disease and disability.
Advanced practice nurses must be familiar with epidemiology, statistics, health
promotion, disease surveillance, community health assessment, and current health
policy to effectively deal with illness that transcends individuals. Nurses have been
participating in providing health education, vaccination programs, and screening procedures
in the community as part of primary prevention practices. Specialized educational
programs have been encouraged by public health departments and universities
across the country to enable nurses to become public health nurses. Although it is
clear that all advanced practice nurses do not specialize in public health, it is essential