Introduction
Adapted from “Preface: A Note to Educators” in Community and Public Health Nursing
Our shared goal for this project is to provide a community and public health open educational resource that supports student access to high-quality free learning materials.
We represent schools from various locations across the state of Virginia that recognize the need for open educational resources for nursing faculty and students. This textbook aims to fill a gap in the equitable distribution of knowledge by providing an up-to-date, free, comprehensive community and public health textbook to help reduce the student’s costs of obtaining a nursing degree. Our belief in social justice extends to our work as educators. This text can be used either in its entirety or chapters can be separated and used individually or as a group. By providing openly available educational material, we are taking action that makes higher education more accessible.
If you are a nursing educator, you might ask yourself, “Why should I use this book, and why now?” By choosing this textbook and instructor guide, you will be able to meet the growing demands for open educational materials. You will find that the material in this book is largely drawn from reputable sources and synthesized in a way that will build foundational knowledge for students in the arenas of community, public, and population health. In addition, you will find practical application exercises within the textbook aimed at deepening student understanding and developing their abilities to analyze and create possible solutions to problems. This instructor guide seeks to help you, the educator, integrate practical applications into your curriculum with ease. We also provide additional activities for your consideration.
To help educators interested in using this book, we have included a chapter (Appendix A in the book) mapping the content of this book to the AACN Essentials. You can also access ancillary resources, such as a teaching guide, at https://bit.ly/community-nursing-resources. If you create materials to accompany this text in class, such as slide decks or assessments, we recommend you submit them to vivapub@gmu.edu to be stored alongside the text for future adopters.