Which public health nursing function is primarily about coordinating and linking clients to services across multiple providers?

• A. Case finding.
• B. Case management.
• C. Collaboration.
• D. Provision of direct services.

Answer: (B)

Coordinating and linking clients to services across multiple providers is case management. In public health nursing, case management involves assessing a client’s needs, planning an individualized care approach, and actively arranging and coordinating access to services from different providers—medical, social, housing, transportation, and financial supports—to ensure the client receives continuous, comprehensive care. The case manager also advocates for the client and follows up to confirm that referrals are completed and that progress toward goals is tracked, reducing fragmentation as clients move through different services and settings. For example, a nurse case manager helping a client with a chronic illness might arrange a primary care visit, connect the client with home health services, secure transportation to appointments, link to nutrition counseling, and verify medication access, then monitor adherence and outcomes. This is distinct from identifying people who might need services (case finding), or working with others to plan or deliver care without coordinating all the links (collaboration), or delivering hands-on services directly to clients (provision of direct services).