The purpose of public health nursing is to promote and protect the health of the population. This proactive approach not only limits the scope of their practice to the health concerns of individuals but also to the development and implementation of programs and policies that help improve the health of populations. The role of public health nurses is to focus on population-centered care resulting in promoting health, preventing disability and disease, and improving quality of life. An effective public health nurse is able to evaluate assessment data to define population diagnoses and set priorities accordingly. They can also serve as advocates for individuals and families in the population to develop policies, access resources and protect their dignity. Most importantly, the nurse should be able to provide care, respecting human dignity, be impartial with respect to concerns related to social or economic status, personal characteristics or the nature of health problems. Diagnosis and Prioritization of Populations Public health nursing is a practice that focuses on promoting and improving the health of populations through nursing knowledge, critical thinking, and the prevention of disease and disability. An effective public health nurse can also evaluate and collect data through an assessment that serves to diagnose the population and establish priorities. An assessment is derived from direct input from the population, data regarding access to and use of health services, prevention and health promotion factors, risk factors, and basic nursing and public health skills. Public health nurses engage in research that improves public health nursing practice and documents the results of specific activities and strategies. They have a responsibility to actively support that information exchanged between individuals, families, communities and populations is interconnected as a single entity. Through advocacy actions, nurses can promote the self-determination of the population and its aggregates which, ultimately, can lead to the promotion of health, accessibility of resources and human dignity. Advocacy allows clients to participate in problem-solving processes and health care decisions. It works cited by the American Nurses Association. (2007). Public health nursing: scope and standards of practice. Silver Springs, MD: American Nurses Association. Stanhope M. & Lancaster, J. (2008). Public health nursing: Population-centered health care in the community (7th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.Parse, R.R. (2003). Community: A perspective of human becoming. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.