Roles and activities of community nurses in China: A descriptive study

To collect information about the current status of community nurses in China and explore the roles and activities that they perform in their daily community setting.

Community health services are central to efforts to improve public health in China. Clarifying who performs which community nursing services can help assess the contributions of community nursing and guide future practices. However, specific information is limited in China.

A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted from March to November 2014. Information was collected on demographics, work roles, and activities of community nurses.

Most community nurses in our survey were young with a low educational level. Their daily routine most frequently involved immunization and basic medical services, while their main roles were caregiver, educator, organiser and manager.

Although community nurses cover nearly all areas of service that the national government requires, some roles and their associated activities are neglected. The quantity and quality of community nurses may be hindering their ability to fulfill all roles and activities envisioned by the national government.

Further training should be provided to increase the ability of community nurses to perform frequent functions as well as activities that are currently neglected.