Knowing an Indigenous Aeta Community Through Caring: Implications of Nursing as Caring for Community Health Nursing Education

Introduction: Indigenous communities continue to experience health inequities shaped by socioeconomic vulnerability, environmental conditions, and limited access to health services. Community profiling is a fundamental activity in Community Health Nursing and provides an opportunity to know communities as caring persons whose health practices are grounded in cultural meaning. 

Materials and Methods: A descriptive community profiling study was conducted using secondary community survey data collected from 2010 to 2014 in Sitio Monicayo, an Indigenous Aeta community in Mabalacat City, Pampanga, Philippines. Data included demographic characteristics, socioeconomic conditions, environmental factors, health status indicators, and available community resources. 

Results: The community demonstrated steady population growth, persistent poverty, high rates of school non-attendance, fluctuating family planning practices, and improving housing conditions following community-based housing initiatives. Environmental challenges remained, particularly in waste disposal and water access. Maternal and child health indicators revealed inconsistent breastfeeding practices and incomplete immunization coverage, alongside continued reliance on traditional healers with increasing acceptance of biomedical services. 

Conclusions: Viewing community profiling through the lens of Nursing as Caring highlights the importance of knowing Indigenous communities as caring collectives whose health decisions are shaped by culture, relationships, and lived realities. Integrating caring-centered community assessment into Community Health Nursing education strengthens students’ capacity to deliver culturally congruent, ethical, and relational care for Indigenous populations.