Recorded presentation

Janet U. Schneiderman, PhD, RN, School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Social Work Center, Room 226, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0411, 213-821-1338, juschnei@usc.edu

“New Investigator Symposium”

Exploration of the role of nurses in caring for children in foster care

Janet U. Schneiderman, PhD, RN University of Southern California School of Education Dissertation Chair: David D. Marsh, PhD Date of Graduation: August, 2003

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate whether public health nurses adopt the theoretical framework of the Social Ecological Model of Health in providing health case management for foster children in the child welfare organization and whether their practice is theory based. The study will investigate whether organizational context buffers or enhances the ability of the nurse to carry out his/her role and whether the organization affects communication, case finding and choices of actual interventions. Methods: The research used descriptive phenomenological qualitative methods. In depth interviews of nurses working in child welfare were the primary data source. Observations and a survey were used to answer the research question about actual practice. Findings: Four themes were derived from the data. The first theme was that nurses lacked physical access to the population of foster children. The second theme was the adoption of the broad determinants of health led to the desire to provide both upstream and downstream interventions. The third theme was the nurses’ desire for teamwork in the organization. The final theme was the lack of political influence. Conclusions: Public Health Nurses who work in foster care need more organizational support to provide comprehensive care. Interdisciplinary teamwork in child welfare organizations is difficult due to the political nature of the organization and the inability of nurses to work effectively in “host environments.”

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Describe how foster care nurses can utilize the social work concept of “host environments” to improve their organization acumen and power within the child welfare organizational system.
• 2. Summarize the health case management role of nurses who work in foster care.

Keywords: Child Health,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation