| Learning Objective #1: Understand what public health nurses do during home visits in Japan | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Compare their behavior during home visits with the result of this study |
Design: Qualitative and inductive design.
Method: The Methodology for Conceptualization of Nursing (Funashima, 1999) was adopted. The data were collected through participant observation of 89 interactions of 5 public health nurses with the clients and their families. Each behavior was compared with each other and was coded from the viewpoint of what public health nurses do to solve nursing problems of clients and their families. The codes were categorized by the similarity and dissimilarity. Trustworthiness was established in accordance with Lincoln and Guba's principles (1985).
Findings: The following six concepts were developed. 1. Clarifying the nursing problems and reaching a common understanding of them with clients and their families. 2. Solving nursing problems of clients and their families by providing public health nurse' expertise and skills with them and by cooperating with medical and welfare personnel. 3. Assisting and enhancing clients' and their families' ability to solve their problems by themselves. 4. Helping clients and their families to develop relationships among them. 5. Protecting the privacy of clients and their families and avoiding excessive interactions with them. 6. Encouraging clients and their families to keep good their relationships.
Implications: Most public health nurses visit clients and their families alone, and this means that each of them has the responsibility to self-evaluate the effects of their visits and to improve their home visits behavior. To assist the public health nurses, a self-evaluation scale of home visits behavior should be developed based on the study findings.