Harkness,  a 2011 AJN Book of the Year Award recipant integrates the principles of epidemiology and basic biostatistics with core principles of community health nursing and public health nursing. This focus will provide both the methods and the knowledge necessary to gather, analyze, and evaluate data as evidence for community health practice decisions.

Focusing on the individual, only in the context of the community setting, Harkness also emphasizes the global community, reflecting increasingly global healthcare concerns. Cultivating critical thinking skills through case studies and examples focusing on regional national and international community settings, Harkness is an applied core text for students in Baccalaureate programs who are preparing to be generalists in community health and public health nursing (CHN & PHN).