BACKGROUND School participation in collecting and reporting syndromic surveillance (SS) data to public health officials and school nurses' attitudes regarding SS have not been assessed. METHODS An online survey was sent to Missouri Association of School Nurses members during the 2013/2014 school year to assess whether K-12 schools were collecting and reporting SS data. Z-scores were used to a...

In an environment characterized by a projected over-supply of primary care providers and a public seeking higher quality, cost-effective care, advanced practice nurses will be measured not only by their comparative value in delivering conventional primary care, but also by the uniqueness of their contributions to health outcomes. These value-added skills, distinctive to nursing practice at all ...

A review of the historical evolution of the concept of community health diagnosis in nursing identifies sources of ambiguity that have impeded making the goals and values of community health nursing operational. Refinements of meaning in the conceptualization of the community health diagnosis that focus upon the community as the primary level of analysis are suggested. Implications of this reco...

As part of a new vision for public health in Georgia, the role of the public health nurse (PHN) is shifting from a predominantly individual and clinic-based care model to a population health practice model. Based on focus groups conducted with management and frontline PHNs in 2001, nurses in Georgia were unprepared for this transition and lacked a strong understanding of population health conce...

Attrition in the public health nursing work force combined with a lack of faculty to teach public health prompted development of a "long-distance" learning project. Practicing associate degree nurses enrolled in an online course in population-based practice worked with experienced public health nurse "e-mentors." Student-mentor pairs worked through course assignments, shared public health nursi...

OBJECTIVE : The purpose of this study was to examine how nursing is viewed by the nation's decision makers and opinion leaders. BACKGROUND : Nurses comprise the largest subgroup of the health and healthcare workforce. The public recognizes nurses' contributions, consistently ranking them highest in honesty and ethics. Yet, significant barriers remain in nurses achieving substantial leadership...

Background: Organizational culture has been defined as an important characteristic that influences the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of providing quality health care services. Nurses are an important group that can influence the overall culture of a health organization positively or negatively. Objectives: To identify the organizational operating culture in total and within levels of the pub...

Current NHS policy highlights the importance of public health as a strategy to reduce health inequalities and to promote the health of communities, and nurses are recognised as key contributors to the public health function. Changes are also taking place in pre- and post-registration nurse education curricula, in the wake of recent education policy recommendations. However, progress towards eff...