Population-Based Training Needs among Public Health Nursing Leaders and Public Health Nursing Staff in Washington State

Public health nurses (PHNs) need effective strategies to reduce health disparities, requiring a competent PHN workforce that can address growing complex global challenges. Population-level nursing practice is applicable across the continuum of care, and promotes an ecological approach to practice. A state-wide association of county-level PHN officials has committed and worked to advance their practice competency. In 2011, these PHN leaders partnered with a graduate nursing student to interview their members to assess their and their staff's population-based training needs. A PHN leader and university faculty adviser provided guidance in questionnaire development. Seventeen telephone interviews were conducted. Electronic notes were taken with each respondent's consent. Interview themes were coded around the Quad Council's PHN Competencies. Findings indicate that PHN leaders and staff need training in policy development & program planning, community dimensions of practice skills, and communication skills. PHN leaders voiced their own need for training in financial planning & management, and leadership skills in transitioning toward population-based care. Recommended strategies to increase staff readiness for population-based training are to 1. Provide interactive and practical trainings that demonstrate that staff's work with individuals can be strategically embedded in population-level practice. 2. Increase PHN leaders' access to practice and academic experts to devise creative solutions for training, despite current practice challenges such as decreasing training budgets and increasing staff workloads. PHN leaders working in governmental public health can build, strengthen, and continue their partnership with their academic counterparts to develop and/or adapt evidence-based strategies to advance their level of practice competency.