Public health nursing (PHN) effectiveness: Twenty years of evidence

Background and Issues: Public Health Nursing (PHN) has a long history as one of the seminal roles in nursing, but the variety of roles that PHNs have assumed over the past century result in little consensus on which interventions and roles are enhanced by the combination of public health and nursing knowledge and skills. With current cost constraints in public health, and the focus on evidence based practice, PHNs are challenged to document their value added to public health interventions and practice. Description: This study investigated the evidence base for public health nursing (PHN) practice across a variety of interventions and populations. The study was an integrative literature review, focused on PHN interventions with data support documented over the past twenty years. A search of the published literature using CINHAL and PubMed resulted in 46 articles meeting the search criteria. The researchers reviewed each article for the relevant variables; worked towards consensus for each variable; and summarized results using descriptive statistics, an assessment of the evidence base, and recommendations for research needed to support PHN practice. Lessons Learned: Despite the long history of PHN working to promote and maintain the health of vulnerable populations in the community, practice outcomes have not been well documented. Recommendations: Further work is needed to strengthen the methods used to document effectiveness; focus on promising PHN interventions via multi site studies; and translate PHN interventions with documented effectiveness to appropriate practice settings.