Public health nursing practice is guided by the community's priorities as identified by community:

• A. Assessment.
• B. Diagnosis.
• C. Interventions.
• D. Planning.

Answer: (A)

Public health nursing identifies what matters most to the community through the assessment process. This phase gathers data on health status, risk factors, resources, and, crucially, the community’s own perceptions of needs. By using surveys, focus groups, community forums, and asset mapping, the community helps set priorities based on what they view as most urgent or impactful. Those prioritized issues then guide the next steps—planning, designing interventions, and evaluating outcomes. Diagnosis and planning come after priorities are identified, with assessment serving as the process that reveals what the community wants addressed.