The student nurses are preparing a presentation for the
community health rotation. It is critical for nurses and
student nurses to understanding the concept of the
community as client is a prerequisite for effective
service at every level of community nursing practice. A
major component of the presentation is to describe
a community needs assessment.
1. What are the characteristics of a healthy
community?
2. What is meant by the concept of community as
client?
3. What are the three dimensions of the community
as client?

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Here are the answers to your questions about the community as client in community health nursing:

1. What are the characteristics of a healthy community?

A healthy community is one that continually creates and improves its environment and expands its resources so that the prerequisites for health are provided for all its citizens. These prerequisites include:

  • Basic Needs Met: Access to safe and affordable housing, adequate employment, nutritious food, clean water, sanitation, and reliable transportation.
  • Safe and Healthy Environment: A clean and safe physical environment with good air and water quality, and measures to prevent injuries.
  • Access to Quality Education: Opportunities for lifelong learning and quality education for all age groups.
  • Access to Healthcare: Availability and accessibility of quality healthcare services, including preventive care, treatment, and health education.
  • Strong Social Connections: Opportunities for social interaction, community engagement, and strong social support networks.

Here are the answers to your questions about the community as client in community health nursing:

1. What are the characteristics of a healthy community?

A healthy community is one that continually creates and improves its environment and expands its resources so that the prerequisites for health are provided for all its citizens. These prerequisites include:

  • Basic Needs Met: Access to safe and affordable housing, adequate employment, nutritious food, clean water, sanitation, and reliable transportation.
  • Safe and Healthy Environment: A clean and safe physical environment with good air and water quality, and measures to prevent injuries.
  • Access to Quality Education: Opportunities for lifelong learning and quality education for all age groups.
  • Access to Healthcare: Availability and accessibility of quality healthcare services, including preventive care, treatment, and health education.
  • Strong Social Connections: Opportunities for social interaction, community engagement, and strong social support networks.
  • Civic Participation: Residents are involved in decision-making processes that affect their community.
  • Economic Opportunities: A diverse and sustainable economy that provides opportunities for employment and economic well-being.
  • Safety and Security: Low crime rates and a sense of safety for all residents.
  • Recreational Opportunities: Access to parks, recreational facilities, and opportunities for physical activity.
  • Cultural and Spiritual Opportunities: Places and opportunities for cultural expression and spiritual growth.
  • Effective Communication and Collaboration: Open channels for communication and collaboration among residents, organizations, and leaders to address community issues.
  • Equitable and Inclusive Access: Ensuring that all residents, including vulnerable groups, have equitable and inclusive access to resources and opportunities.
  • A Shared Vision: Residents hold a common vision for the future and work together to achieve it.
  • Empowerment: People and community groups feel empowered and have a sense of control over their lives and the community’s direction.

2. What is meant by the concept of community as client?

The concept of community as client means that the focus of nursing service is on the collective good of the population rather than solely on individual health needs. When the community is the client, the community health nurse’s primary concern is the health and well-being of the entire group or population within a defined area or with shared characteristics.

Instead of focusing on treating individual illnesses, the nurse using this perspective assesses the health status, structures, and processes within the community to identify health problems, assets, and potential areas for intervention at a population level. The goal is to promote health, prevent disease, and improve the overall health status of the community as a whole.

3. What are the three dimensions of the community as client?

When viewing the community as a client, community health nurses typically consider three key dimensions to understand its health and functioning:

  • Status (or People): This dimension refers to the health outcomes of the community. It includes measures of morbidity (illness rates), mortality (death rates), life expectancy, risk factors, and overall health indicators of the population. It also encompasses the demographic characteristics of the community, such as age distribution, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, as these factors influence health status.

  • Structure (or Services and Resources): This dimension examines the community’s capacity to provide for the health and well-being of its members. It includes the availability, accessibility, and quality of health services, resources, and infrastructure. This encompasses healthcare facilities, schools, social services, housing, transportation, public safety, economic base, and other factors that support or hinder community health.

  • Process (or Community Functioning): This dimension focuses on the community’s ability to function effectively as a unit to identify and address its health problems. It examines how the community members interact, organize, and collaborate; their level of participation in decision-making; their commitment to health; and their ability to solve problems. It also includes communication networks, leadership, and the presence of community organizations and their activities.

Understanding these three dimensions provides a comprehensive framework for community health nurses to assess the needs of the community as their client and to develop effective interventions that promote population health.

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