Health promotion: the views of children's nurses

A phenomenological study was undertaken to consider the meaning of health promotion, as perceived by a group of six children's nurses. Unstructured individual interviews revealed that health promotion means not only having an understanding of the concept, but being involved and strongly committed to its practice. Participants suggested that health promotion means embracing a range of strategies, acknowledging the value of fostering a multi-agency approach and collaboration with the child and family. These nurses expressed a desire to further develop their health promotion role, but suggested that time constraints and a lack of resources presented difficulties. They concluded that health promotion means having an appropriate knowledge base to facilitate practice, and that nurse education programmes have much to offer in this area.