Introduction

Dr. C.E. Winslow defines Public Health as the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, promoting health and efficiency through organized community effort for the sanitation of the environment, control of communicable diseases, the education of individuals in personal hygiene, the organization of medical and nursing services for the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease, and the development of the social machinery to ensure everyone a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health, so organizing these benefits as to enable every citizen to realize his birthright of health and longevity.

Public health nursing is defined by the World Health Organization Expert Committee of Nursing as a special field of nursing that combines the skills of nursing, public health and some phases of social assistance and functions as part of the total public health programme for the promotion of health, the improvement of the conditions in the social and physical environment, rehabilitation of illness and disability.

Community diagnosis is the process of identification of the various factors that affect the health of an individual in the community and to detect certain problems that a community has. As a community it involves all the individuals that are living in it. Assessment of these factors is done by the Public Health Nurse. It is not an easy task for it requires thorough investigation by surveying families present in the community.

Identification and solution of these problems is the main concern of a community diagnosis. To attain optimal health and wellness of each and every individual in the community regardless of its race, age, sex, etc. the public health nurse must help these individuals to solve whatever existing health problems they have.

RATIONALE

The study was done to be able to know the