Evaluation of the reorganization of a public health nursing division

From 1986 to 1988, the Nursing Division of the Hamilton-Wentworth Department of Public Health Services undertook an analysis of our present organizational structure, incorporating knowledge from current literature, community trends and staff perceptions. From this analysis, a division-wide reorganization was implemented from the current practice in which the Public Health Nurse (PHN) delivered nursing care across all ages and stages (generalist role) to one organized by target populations. These events were described in an earlier article. As part of the plan for reorganization, the nurse management team implemented an evaluation process which included five components: 1) an internal staff survey; 2) an external agency survey; 3) a program-specific activity analysis; 4) a program-specific measure of knowledge change and; 5) a longitudinal job satisfaction survey. This article describes this evaluation and presents implications for the future.