Inventi Impact: Advanced Nursing

Inventi:han/15514/15

Community Health Nursesâ?? Learning Needs in Relation to the Canadian Community Health Nursing\nStandards of Practice: Results from a Canadian Survey

Background: Canadian Community health nurses (CHNs) work in diverse urban, rural, and remote settings such as:\npublic health units/departments, home health, community health facilities, family practices, and other community-based\nsettings. Research into specific learning needs of practicing CHNs is sparsely reported. This paper examines\nCanadian CHNs learning needs in relation to the 2008 Canadian Community Health Nursing Standards of Practice\n(CCHN Standards). It answers: What are the learning needs of CHNs in Canada in relation to the CCHN Standards?\nWhat are differences in CHNsââ?¬â?¢ learning needs by: province and territory in Canada, work setting (home health,\npublic health and other community health settings) and years of nursing practice?\nMethods: Between late 2008 and early 2009 a national survey was conducted to identify learning needs of CHNs\nbased on the CCHN Standards using a validated tool.\nResults: Results indicated that CHNs had learning needs on 25 of 88 items (28.4%), suggesting CHNs have confidence in\nmost CCHN Standards. Three items had the highest learning needs with mean scores > 0.60: two related to\nepidemiology (means 0.62 and 0.75); and one to informatics (application of information and communication technology)\n(mean = 0.73). Public health nurses had a greater need to know about ââ?¬Å?ââ?¬Â¦evaluating population health promotion\nprograms systematicallyââ?¬Â compared to home health nurses (mean 0.66 vs. 0.39, p <0.010). Nurses with under two years\nexperience had a greater need to learn ââ?¬Å?ââ?¬Â¦ advocating for healthy public policyââ?¬Â¦Ã¢â?¬Â than their more experienced peers\n(p = 0.0029). Also, NPs had a greater need to learn about ââ?¬Å?ââ?¬Â¦using community development principles when engaging\nthe individual/community in a consultative processââ?¬Â compared to RNs (p = 0.05). Many nurses were unsure if they\napplied foundational theoretical frameworks (i.e., the Ottawa Charter of Health Promotion, the Jakarta Declaration, and\nthe Population Health Promotion Model) in practice.\nConclusions: CHN educators and practice leaders need to consider these results in determining where to strengthen\ncontent in graduate and undergraduate nursing programs, as well as professional development programs. For practicing\nCHNs educational content should be tailored based on learnerââ?¬â?¢s years of experience in the community and their\nemployment sector.