Parish nurse practice with client aggregates

The purpose of this study was to describe 1 aspect of parish nurses' practice: working with client aggregates. Nineteen parish nurses practicing in 22 faith communities collected data using 2 standardized nursing classification systems--North American Nurses Diagnosis Association Taxonomy and Nursing Intervention Classification. Nurses recorded 77 group encounters for services provided over a 5-month period. The most frequent nursing diagnoses and nursing interventions are reported and emphasize health promotion and illness prevention. The parish nurse roles of educator, counselor, referral agent, and advocate-facilitator described in the literature were consistent with the findings of this study. In addition, the parish nurse as a member of the ministerial team is discussed. A focus group of the parish nurses provided validation of the results of aggregate practice.