Can nurses mandate public health actions?

• A. No
• B. Yes, in all situations
• C. Yes, only with a physician order
• D. Yes, during emergencies

Answer: (A)

Authority to mandate public health actions rests with public health authorities, not individual nurses. Nurses implement and enforce public health measures only under the legal directives of those authorities, or through physician orders within a patient’s care plan. They can educate, advocate, and help ensure compliance, but they do not independently issue mandates to the public. In emergencies, directives come from the appropriate public health or government authorities, and nurses execute those orders rather than create them. That’s why the statement that nurses can mandate public health actions is not correct—the power to mandate lies with the public health system, not with a nurse acting alone.