To what extent do health visitors and school nurses have a voice in the policy process?

The purpose of the study was to explore the reciprocal impact of health policy on public health nursing and public health nursing on policy in England. The theoretical framework was critical social theory and the methodology was constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2006). In the first phase of the research, initial scoping questionnaires and follow-up telephone interviews were conducted. Phase two consisted of detailed policy analyses and in phase three, extant documents were reviewed. The study identified potential barriers to public health nurses' full participation in the policy process and possible responses, including organizational changes in health care settings and curricula developments in the nursing education domain. The data collection for this study was carried out between 2008 and 2011.