The Role of Community Nurse Practitioners in Disease and Health Hazard Surveillance

Abstract

Disease and health hazard surveillance systems are critical mechanisms for monitoring, controlling, and preventing diseases, utilizing data from primary care services such as sub-district health promotion hospitals and family doctor clinics. This data can be employed for detecting outbreaks, planning disease control measures, and supporting research for the development of health systems. Community nurse practitioners play an essential role in this process, ranging from disease screening, providing primary medical care, reporting data into surveillance systems, to offering advice to the public during public health emergencies. Additionally, these nurses can utilize surveillance data to develop health service systems and create disease prevention and control projects tailored to the specific needs of the community context. This article aimsto describe the role of community nurse practitioners in disease and health hazard surveillance at the primary care level through a review of relevant literature and research. The findings reveal that community nurse practitioners significantly contribute to the surveillance of key diseases such as dengue fever and COVID-19 through collaboration with local health networks, including village health volunteers and other public health agencies. The article emphasizes the importance of developing community nurse practitioner curricula that align with the practical roles in the field. Furthermore, it advocates for providing nursing students with opportunities to gain firsth and experience in implementing disease and health hazard surveillance at the primary care level to enhance the capacity of the next generation of nurses to collaborate effectively with health networks and respond to community health issues sustainably.