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Emphasizing terminal care as district nursing work: a helpful strategy in a purchasing environment?
C Goodman1, D Knight, I Machen
1Faculty of Health and Human Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, England.
Journal of Advanced Nursing
|October 2, 1998
Summary
District nurses increasingly emphasized terminal care to explain their services and secure funding post-general practitioner purchasing reforms. However, this focus may inaccurately represent the full scope of district nursing work.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Studies
- Healthcare Management
- Health Economics
Background:
- The introduction of general practitioner purchasing significantly altered healthcare service delivery.
- District nursing services faced new pressures to define and justify their roles within this evolving landscape.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how district nurses defined their services.
- To investigate the emphasis on terminal care in defining district nursing work.
- To analyze the use of terminal care in securing funding through general practitioner purchasing.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study involving district nurse participants.
- Exploration of service definitions and emphasis on specific care aspects.
- Analysis of the role of terminal care in purchasing and funding discussions.
Main Results:
- Terminal care was identified as a significant and defining aspect of district nursing work.
- District nurses utilized the emphasis on terminal care to improve general practitioner understanding and obtain additional funding.
- The strategic use of terminal care in purchasing discussions was a key finding.
Conclusions:
- The emphasis on terminal care may not fully represent the breadth of district nursing responsibilities.
- Over-representation of terminal care could lead to a skewed perception of district nursing.
- Implications for service representation and funding within purchasing environments require careful consideration.