CPH LAB

• Vital signs


  A group of four important signs that indicate the status of the body's vital functions
• Vital signs


  • They are very essential in the assessment of the general physical health of a person
  • They vary with age, weight, gender, and overall health
• Primary vital signs


  • Body temperature
  • Heart rate or Pulse
  • Respiratory rate
  • Blood Pressure
• Temperature


  • Amount of heat in the body
  • It is a balance between the amount of heat produced and the amount of heat lost
  • It can give signs of systemic infection or inflammation in the presence of a fever
• Types of thermometers


  • Glass Thermometer
  • Digital Thermometer
  • Disposable Thermometer
  • Electrical Thermometer
• Sites for thermometer


  • Axillary
  • Tympanic
  • Oral
  • Rectal
• Pulse


  • The rate at which the heart beats while pumping blood through the arteries
  • Recorded as beats per minute (bpm)
  • Rate varies with individuals – depends on age, sex, body size and exercise
  • Normal adult resting rate is 60-100 beats per minute
  • Tachycardia – heart rate over 100
  • Bradycardia – heart Rate below 60
• Taking pulse rate


  1. Patient should be at rest

  2. Arm to be resting on a surface such as a bed or table

  3. Use tips of 2nd and 3rd fingers

  4. Press gently, compressing blood vessel between your fingers and patient's radial (wrist) bone

  5. Count the number of beats within one minute using a timer
• Respiratory rate


  • Indication of how well the body provides oxygen to the tissues
  • One respiration consists of one inhalation and one expiration
  • Normal respiratory rate for adult is 12 – 20 breaths per minute
  • Tachypnea – respiratory rate over 20
  • Bradypnea – respiratory rate below 12
  • Dyspnea – shortness of breath , difficulty in breathing
  • Apnea – no breathing
  • Hyperventilation – fast and deep respirations
  • Hypoventilation – slow and shallow respirations
• Taking respiratory rate


  1. Breathing can be controlled, so patient is not informed when respirations are counted

  2. Keep your fingers in same position on wrist as when counting pulse in order not to disturb the resident's breathing pattern

  3. Count respirations immediately following the pulse count, remembering the pulse count as you count the rise and fall of the chest

  4. Count respirations for 1 minute using a timer

  5. Respirations are recorded in whole numbers
• Blood pressure


  • The amount of force the exerts against arterial walls
  • Systolic Pressure - pressure exerted when the heart is contracting
  • Diastolic Pressure - pressure exerted when the heart is relaxing
  • Measured in millimeter of mercury (mmHg)
  • Average adult systolic pressure - 100 to 140mmHg
  • Average adult diastolic pressure - 60 to 90
• Measuring blood pressure


  1. Clean the stethoscope earpieces and diaphragm with alcohol

  2. Locate the brachial pulse

  3. Wrap the cuff above the elbow with the arrow pointing to the brachial artery. Fasten the cuff so it fits snugly

  4. Place the diaphragm of the stethoscope flat on the pulse site, holding it in place with the index and middle fingers of one hand

  5. Locate the radial pulse

  6. Close the valve on the BP cuff by turning it to the right (clockwise)

  7. Inflate the cuff approximately 180 or 200 mmHg

  8. Deflate the cuff slowly by opening the valve slightly and turning it counterclockwise (to the left) with your thumb and index finger. Allow the air to escape slowly while listening for a pulse sound

  9. Note the reading at which you hear the first clear, regular pulse sound. This number is the systolic pressure

  10. Continue listening until the sound disappears. This is the diastolic pressure. Note this reading

  11. Open the valve completely to deflate the cuff. Remove the cuff from the patient

  12. Record results with systolic as the top number and diastolic as the bottom number (i.e., 120/76)
• Community Organization


  A process by which the community is able to identify its needs and take actions to fulfill the needs or solve the problem
• COPAR (Community Organizing Participatory Action Research)

  • A social development approach that aims to transform the apathetic, individualistic and voiceless poor into dynamic, participatory and politically responsive community
  • A collective, participatory, transformative, liberative, sustained and systematic process of building people's organizations by mobilizing and enhancing the capabilities and resources of the people for the resolution of their issues and concerns towards effecting change in their existing oppressive and exploitative conditions
  • A process by which a community identifies its needs and objectives, develops confidence to take action in respect to them and in doing so, extends and develops cooperative and collaborative attitudes and practices in the community
• Steps in Community Organization

  1. Collection of facts

  2. Analysis of data

  3. Study the resources

  4. Evolving strategies or various courses of action

  5. Selecting suitable energy

  6. Implementation

  7. Monitoring and evaluation

  8. Feedback
• Importance of COPAR


  • It helps the community workers to generate community participation in development activities
  • It prepares people/clients to eventually take over the management of a development programs in the future
  • It maximizes community, participation and involvement, community resources are mobilized for community services
• Principles of COPAR


  • People, especially the most oppressed, exploited and deprived sectors are open to change, have the capacity to change and are able to bring about change
  • COPAR should be based on the interest of the poorest sectors of society
  • COPAR should lead to a self-reliant community and society
• COPAR Process


  1. A progressive cycle of action-reflection action which begins with small, local and concrete issues identified by the people and the evaluation and the reflection of and on the action taken by them

  2. Consciousness through experimental learning central to the COPAR process because it places emphasis on learning that emerges from concrete action and which enriches succeeding action

  3. COPAR is participatory and mass-based because it is primarily directed towards and based in favor of the poor, the powerless and oppressed

  4. COPAR is group-centered and not leader-oriented. Leaders are identified, emerge and are tested through action rather than appointed or selected by some external force or entity
• COPAR Phases of Process

  1. Pre-entry Phase

  2. Entry Phase

  3. Formation phase

  4. Organization Building Phase

  5. Sustenance and Strengthening Phase
• Pre-entry Phase


  • It is the initial phase of the organizing process where the community/organizer looks for communities to serve/help
  • It is considered the simplest phase in terms of actual outputs, activities and strategies and time spent for it
  • Activities include: Designing a plan for community development including all its activities and strategies for care development, Designing criteria for the selection of site, Actually selecting the site for community care
• Criteria for Initial Site Selection

  • Must have a population of 100-200 families
  • Economically depressed
  • No strong resistance from the community
  • No serious peace and order problem
  • No similar group or organization holding the same program
• Choosing Final Community


  1. Conduct informal interviews with community residents and key informants

  2. Determine the need of the program in the community

  3. Take note of political development

  4. Develop community profiles for secondary data

  5. Develop survey tools

  6. Pay courtesy call to community leaders

  7. Choose foster families based on guidelines
• Entry Phase


  • Sometimes called the social preparation phase as to the activities done here includes the sensitization of the people on the critical events in their life, innovating them to share their dreams and ideas on how to manage their concerns and eventually mobilizing them to take collective action on these
  • This phase signals the actual entry of the community worker/organizer into the community
• Guidelines for Entry Phase


  • Recognizes the role of local authorities by paying them visits to inform them of their presence and activities
  • The appearance, speech, behavior and lifestyle should be in keeping with those of the community residents without disregard of their being role models
  • Avoid raising the consciousness of the community residents, adopt a low-key profile
• Formation phase


  It is the phase when a core group is created-which then be trained to develop their capabilities in leading their community
• Organization Building Phase


  1. Entails the formation of more formal structures and the inclusion of more formal procedures of planning, implementation, and evaluating community-wide activities

  2. It is at this phase where the organized leaders or groups are being given trainings (formal informal, OJT) to develop their skills and in managing their own concerns/programs
• Sustenance and Strengthening Phase


  1. Occurs when the community organization has already been established and the community members are already actively participating in community-wide undertakings

  2. At this point, the different community setup in the organization building phase are already expected to be functioning by way of planning, implementing and evaluating their own programs with the overall guidance from the community-wide organization

  3. Strategies used may include: Education and training, Networking and linkaging, Conduct of mobilization on health and development concerns, Implementing of livelihood projects, Developing secondary leaders
• Functions of Community Organizers

  • Identify and attract the people to be involved in the organizations
  • Create social movements by building a base of concerned people, mobilizing these community members to act, and developing leadership from and relationships among the people involved that make the organization effective
  • Act as area-wide coordinators of all the programs of different agencies so as best to meet community needs for health and welfare services
  • Facilitate self-help programs initiated by local common-interest groups
  • Work actively, as do other types of social workers, in community councils of social agencies and in community-action groups
• Role of Organizer in Community Organization

  • To be an educator
  • To initiate thinking about the people and help them properly by identifying their problems
  • To make them conversant with the problem-solving process
  • To bring relevant knowledge to the people and make them acquainted with the various plans and projects
  • To make the community realize the need for evaluation of their efforts so as to create in them the necessary power of appreciation and ability for future planning
• Six Stages of Effective Community Organizing

  • Assess the community
  • Create an action team
  • Develop an action plan
  • Mobilize to action
  • Implement
  • Evaluate
• Methods of Data Collection

  • Observing
  • Interviewing
  • Examining
• Subjective Data


  It is referred to as symptoms or covert data
• Objective Data


  It is referred to as signs or overt data detected by an Observer
• Types of Data in Family Nursing Assessment

  • Family structure, characteristics and dynamics
  • Socio Economic and Cultural Characteristics
  • Home and Environment
  • Health status of each member
  • Values and practices on health promotion/ maintenance and disease prevention
• Thermometer commonly used for oral temperature

  Digital thermometer
• Normal adult resting heart rate

  60-100 bpm
• Tachycardia


  Heart rate over 100 bpm
• Fingers used to take pulse rate


  Index and middle fingers
• Normal range for adult respiratory rate

  12-20 breaths per minute
• Dyspnea


  Shortness of breath