Using nursing perspectives to inform public health nursing workforce development

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Nursing Science
• Workforce Development

Background:

• Public health services research guides workforce development.
• Public health nurses (PHNs) are the largest professional group in public health.
• Effective workforce development requires understanding PHN practice meaning-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a nursing perspective for researching PHN practice.
• To develop a theoretical framework for PHN praxis.
• To illustrate the interplay between nursing science and PHN practice.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of PHN practice and workforce assessments.
• Identification of assumptions about nursing knowledge.
• Development of a theoretical perspective for inquiry.

Main Results:

• Current workforce development relies on public health services research.
• A nursing perspective is proposed for PHN practice research.
• A model demonstrates the reciprocal influence of nursing science and practice.

Conclusions:

• A nursing perspective is essential for effective PHN workforce development.
• Understanding how PHNs derive meaning from practice is key.
• The proposed model integrates nursing science and public health nursing practice.