C919: Course Outline for Context-Based Student-Centered Learning

C919: Course Outline for Context-Based Student-Centered Learning

Student Name

Western Governors University

C919 Facilitation of Context-Based Student Centered Learning

Prof. Name:

Date

Course Outline Template

Course Overview

Community health nursing encompasses a distinct set of competencies that often differ from those practiced in traditional acute care environments. This course introduces learners to the foundational and applied principles of community health nursing, emphasizing the nurse’s role beyond hospital walls. Key areas of focus include social determinants of health, health education strategies, communicable and noncommunicable diseases, environmental health, health policy development, behavioral and mental health, emergency preparedness, and transcultural nursing practices. Upon completion of this course, students will demonstrate an understanding of community-based nursing concepts and apply patient-centered, population-focused approaches to improve health outcomes across diverse communities. This course is designed to strengthen students’ ability to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate nursing interventions that address both individual and community-level health needs.

Weekly Course Modules

Module Structure Overview

The course is delivered across eight weeks, with each week focusing on a single core concept aligned with evidence-based active learning strategies. These strategies are designed to enhance student engagement, critical thinking, and practical application of community health nursing principles.

Weekly Modules, Concepts, and Learning Strategies

Weekly Module Descriptions

Week 1: What Is Community Health Nursing?

What is community health nursing, and why is it essential to population health? Community health nursing focuses on promoting and protecting the health of populations through prevention, education, and advocacy. During this introductory module, students explore social determinants of health, including socioeconomic status, education, housing, and access to care. Through simulated community environments, students assess how these determinants influence health outcomes and disparities. This experiential learning approach enhances students’ ability to recognize inequities and develop targeted nursing interventions (Ardern, 2021).

Week 2: Disease Prevention

How can nurses effectively educate communities to prevent disease? This module emphasizes primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies within diverse populations. Students collaborate in groups to design and deliver health education presentations tailored to specific illnesses or population concerns. This approach promotes teamwork, communication skills, and evidence-based teaching practices while reinforcing the nurse’s role as a health educator within the community (Polyakova-Norwood et al., 2023).

Week 3: Communicable Versus Noncommunicable Diseases

What challenges do community health nurses face when addressing different types of diseases? This module examines the distinctions between communicable and noncommunicable diseases and identifies barriers to prevention, such as cultural beliefs, access to resources, and health literacy. Through guided discussions, students analyze real-world disease examples and collaboratively propose strategies to reduce barriers and improve community engagement in prevention efforts (Arani et al., 2019).

Week 4: Environmental Health

How does the environment impact community health? Environmental health focuses on factors such as water quality, sanitation, and pollution. In this module, students participate in laboratory-based water testing simulations to assess safety and identify potential health risks. These hands-on experiences help students understand the relationship between environmental exposures and population health, reinforcing the nurse’s role in environmental advocacy and prevention (Dunn, 2018).

Week 5: Health Policies

What role do nurses play in shaping health policy? This module explores the evolving influence of nurses in health policy development and advocacy. Students select a relevant community health issue and draft a formal letter to a local policymaker, advocating for policy change. This activity strengthens students’ understanding of civic engagement and demonstrates how nurses can influence systemic health improvements through policy initiatives (Harris et al., 2022).

Week 6: Behavioral Health

Why is mental health education critical in community nursing? This module addresses gaps in mental health education and the impact of behavioral health challenges on communities and healthcare providers. Using unfolding case studies and facilitated group discussions, students examine mental health scenarios, including substance use disorders, to develop empathy, clinical reasoning, and community-based intervention strategies (Padgett et al., 2020).

Week 7: Public Emergencies

How should nurses respond to public health emergencies and mass casualties? This module prepares students for disaster response through simulated emergency role-play scenarios. Students assume various roles within a disaster response team, fostering leadership, communication, and critical decision-making skills essential for effective emergency preparedness and response (Opsahl et al., 2019).

Week 8: Ethics in Public Health Nursing

How does transcultural nursing support ethical community care? This final module emphasizes ethical practice and cultural competence in community health nursing. Through gallery walk activities, students explore diverse cultural perspectives and examine how misunderstandings can arise when viewed through dominant cultural norms. This activity promotes cultural humility, ethical sensitivity, and respectful care delivery in diverse communities (Sheeba Elizabeth et al., 2020).

References

Arani, Z. A., Hoseini, M. H. M., Afra, L. G., & Mohammadzade, M. (2019). The effect of teaching on team-based learning and group discussion on learning and academic motivation of operating room students in the technology of gastrointestinal surgery lesson. Journal of Nursing & Midwifery Sciences, 6(2), 72–77. https://doi.org/10.4103/JNMS.JNMS_61_18

Ardern, R. (2021). Simulation: Engaging students with a different perspective. Nursing, 51(5), 14–17. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NURSE.0000743292.80756.06

Dunn, L. (2018). Work-integrated learning and professional accreditation policies: An environmental health higher education perspective. International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, 19(2), 111–122.

Harris, O. O., Bialous, S. A., Muench, U., Chapman, S., & Dawson-Rose, C. (2022). Climate change, public health, health policy, and nurses’ training. American Journal of Public Health, 112, S321–S327. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306826

Opsahl, A., Morris, T., Judge, D., Werskey, K., Edwards, B., & Robinson, D. (2019). Promoting a mock disaster simulation with leadership from a nurse residency program. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 14(3), 153–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2019.01.004

C919: Course Outline for Context-Based Student-Centered Learning

Padgett, T. M., deRose, B. S., Woolf, S. K., & Tielker, S. L. (2020). Implementing an unfolding case study throughout the nursing curriculum to increase opioid addiction education. Journal of Nursing Education, 59(4), 235–238. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20200323-12

Polyakova-Norwood, V., Creed, J., Patterson, B., & Heiney, S. (2023). Making group work gratifying: Implementing and evaluating a three-stage model of group processes in an online nursing course. Journal of Professional Nursing, 46, 13–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2023.02.004

Sheeba Elizabeth, J., Prasad, D., Francis, F., & Prabhakaran, H. (2020). Integrating a gallery walk in a nursing classroom: A nurse educator’s perspectives and student’s reflections. International Journal of Nursing Education, 12(4), 124–129.