Characteristics of a Healthy Community
A healthy lifestyle is becoming a real priority among active families who seek to have a quality life. Therefore, having healthy communities or at least the principles or ideas of living in a healthy society has become a popular trend. All individuals belong to a community, and therefore, a community has particular characteristics that make it be termed as healthy. One feature of a healthy community is having access to quality education. Having a high level of knowledge enables people to have a longer lifespan and more top quality of life (Blais & Hayes, 2016). Schools also teach children foundational concepts of living a healthy life. Another characteristic is the ability to blend into its environment naturally. Such blending ensures less access to harmful substances. The availability of healthcare facilities is another characteristic to enable access to curative and preventive health services. Access to healthy food and wellness/fitness opportunities is also another characteristic of a community that is healthy.
Concept of Community as a Client
The idea of community as a client constitutes a population or a group as the focus of the nursing services. The health of the community is reflected in its status to include mortality, morbidity, crime rates, economic and educational levels, its structures, and processes. Interaction is very crucial in the nursing process of the community since the clients, and the nurse must develop a relationship of exchange and reciprocal influence before any change can occur Fooladi, 2015). The community has an impact on the health of groups, families, and individuals. Effective communication is, therefore, needed to assess the needs of the community and establish trust.
Dimensions of the Community as a Client
The first dimension of the community as a client is the people/status, which comprises of the mortality and morbidity data and the identification of the emotional, physical and social factors that determine the health of the people. The second dimension is the structure of the community, which comprises of the services and resources available to ensure a healthy society (Fooladi, 2015). The third dimension is the process that enables healthy living, which entails the ability of the community to function effectively and their collaboration of the various systems.