model which later: on was rcnamccl w cornmunity-ns-part ner model. The two elements of the model urc: foc:11s on 11lc comrnuni1y ns partner anti the,: use of the nursing process. At the coreofthc asscssmcncwhcc l ;irelhcpcoplcof1h ecomm11nity-their demographi cs, values, llclids und history. The: people ;tr'(;affcctcd hy, and also influence eight subsy:;tcm:;; ur the cn1111111111ily-physkal environme nt. cducntinn, snfcty and trnnspo,·tntinn, politics and government, health and social services, communication, economics and recreation. HEALTH Heallh is a hnsi1: l111m,1n right. On the 6'1' Global Conference rm I lealth Promotion in 200. 5 the Unilcll Nations affirmed its recognition tluit the enjoyment of the highest st:mdard ()f hcu 1th is <ln C of the fundamental rights of every hmnan being (The 13angkok Charter for Health Promotion, 2005). Health which is viewed as a continuum, is considered as the goal of public health in gcnernl,,rnd community health nursing, in particular. It is an important prerequisite {u11d conseq1. 1enr1!) of development. By promotin-g health and preventing disease, CBNs, therefore, contrib11te to the country's economic and social development. There a. re a number of delinitions hjghlightiap; the different dimensions of health and basicnlly focusing on the individual. These should guide nurses in identifying areas for assessmenl and interventi ons. The most frequently cited is that of the WHO: "Healtl1 is a state of completepl1ysic:a l, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity " (v VHO, 199. 5). Dubn (1959, in Pender, 1987:21), Oil the other band, emphasized high-level wel JJless which be defined as: "an integrated metl1od of functioni. ng which is oriented toward ma'Cimizing the potential which the individual is capable. It requiresthat the individual maintain a co11tinuum of balance and purposeful direction witl1in the environment where he is functionu1g'". Rene Dubas in his book JVlan Adapting (1965) defined health as "a quality of life, involving social, emotional, mental, spiritual and biological fitness on Lhe part of the irtdividunl, which results from adaptations to the 1mvi ro. nment (Butler, 2001:2). Florence Nightingale looked into health and illness in relation to the environment ­ ventila Lion, noise, ligbt, cleanliness, diet and restful bed. She prescribed ways to improve hen 1th by manipul ating the environment. Dorothea Orem, on Lhe other hand, defined hea Jth as a "state charncte rized by soundness and wholeness of human structures and bodily and mental fonctions ~(1985 in Pender, 23). Factors affecting health There is a strong link between a society's health and its economk developm ent, which i. n turn is determined by its social and political structu·res and processes. The link between inequaliti es in income and wealth and inequalities in health is"vell-established (Wilkinson, 1996 in Naidoo and Wi Us, 2000:12 ). Culture and environment which impact on people's health are also affected by the country's politics and economy. The different' international conference. son health pr()motion identified thedeterminants of, or prerequisites for health such as peace, food and shelter, clean water, education, adequate economic resources, a stable ecosystem, sustiunabl e resources, social justice and equity and access to basic httman rights. In her keynote address during the 5<b 19 