The public health nurse identifies that childhood obesity is a significant problem at the local elementary school. This is an example of which public health core function?

Choice A reason: Direct care is narrow; community nursing aims broader prevention. This errors per public health standards. It’s universally distinct, not the overarching goal.

Choice B reason: Managing conditions is part, not the full community goal. Prevention is key. This misaligns with nursing scope. It’s universally distinct, too limited.

Choice C reason: Individual/family care is included, but prevention is the goal. This errors per nursing standards. It’s universally distinct, lacks preventive focus.

Choice D reason: Preserving, promoting health, and preventing disease define community nursing. This aligns with public health standards. It’s universally recognized, distinctly comprehensive in scope.

Choice A reason: Secondary prevention involves early detection, like STI screenings. Safe sex education aims to prevent infection before it occurs, not identify existing cases. It targets behavior to stop disease onset, distinguishing it from reactive measures addressing already-present conditions epidemiologically here fully.

Choice B reason: Policy development crafts rules, like condom distribution laws. Education is an action, not policy creation, though it may support it. This focuses on individual prevention, not systemic regulation, separating it from broader public health infrastructure changes distinctly and comprehensively overall.

Choice C reason: Tertiary prevention manages existing disease, like HIV treatment adherence. Safe sex education prevents initial infection, not complications. It’s proactive, targeting susceptibles before exposure, contrasting with efforts to reduce impact in already-affected individuals biologically and practically in scope here.

Choice D reason: Primary prevention stops disease before it starts, like safe sex education reducing STI risk. By teaching condom use, it builds immunity to exposure, a proactive step aligning with public health’s goal to lower incidence rates preemptively across populations effectively and clearly.