Community health nursing in China: status, challenges, and development strategies

The article describes the origins and current state of development of community health nursing (CHN) in China, as well as several factors that have shaped its development. CHN began in China in 1997, and the quantity of services has increased greatly in recent years. However, most community nurses report that they merely duplicate the jobs of hospital nurses. Thus, CHN has not developed to its full potential, and the main causes can be attributed to inadequate management and a lack of personnel, funding, and public confidence. Although the Chinese government has implemented several policies to promote its development, Chinese CHN is still in its infancy and many difficulties must be overcome before it can meet the demands of social development.