Work pattern of child health centre nurses in Stockholm

The aim of the study was to describe the working patterns of nurses at Child Health Centres in Stockholm and the changes in those patterns over a 5-year period. Time-motion studies and interviews were used. According to the results about 50% of working time was spent in a direct contact with families. The distribution of the working time on different tasks was roughly the same in two surveys carried out in 1977 and 1982. Additional duties assigned to the nurses were managed thanks to a decrease in the number of children in the districts. The time-motion method gave reliable information on the nursing work pattern and how this was influenced by new procedures that were implemented.