Design and Methods: This qualitative research is a partnership between researchers and Public Health Services. Individual and group interviews were used with PHNs as primary data sources and additionally informants in public health management. Thematic analysis with the NUD*IST 6 computer program assisted in organizing and analyzing the data.

Population: PHNs (n=44) ,who were randomly selected, participated in individual interviews and PHNs also participated in focus group interviews. A random selection of public health management (n=7) participated in individual interviews.

Concepts: There is a paucity of research on PHNs' population-focused practice in PHC care, and even less with fostering citizen participation and collaborative practice. Partnership with the community, multiple disciplines, and sectors is core to public health nursing. This inquiry examined how PHNs facilitate individuals' and community's full participation in improving and supporting their health through collaborative practice.

Findings: The PHNs, working across a variety of settings and individual, group, and community foci, were responsive to fostering citizen participation and developing partnerships to help clients to meet basic needs, sustain self worth, and ensure capacity building and health.

Conclusions: PHNs establish alliances to reach hard to reach populations and increase preventive and health promotion practices to accomplish individual and community health. They are resilient in the midst of workload and time demands, issues of visibility, ethical tensions, and limited resources.

Implications: These findings contribute to evidence-based practice, policy development, and ongoing research on PHNs' primary health care practice. They provide direction for health care decision makers in fostering an improved, integrated, and community-based health care system.

Back to Public Health/Community Health Nursing
Back to 15th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004