Nurses' perception regarding the role of the family health nurse in the community in Malta

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the 'Family Health Nurse' (FHN) concept as a possible means of developing and strengthening family and community health services in 1998 (WHO Europe). The then proposed role of the FHN was multi-faceted and included helping individuals, families and communities to cope with illness and to improve their health. Scotland was chosen in 2001 by WHO to lead an enactment ofthe new FHN concept. The new FHN role typically supplemented, rather than supplanted, pre-existing community nursing service. Due to the infancy of this concept the available literature on the FHN is limited. The FHN role has not yet been introduced in Malta. The research study adopted an exploratory descriptive non-experimental research design to assess nurses' perceptions about the role of the FHN in the community in Malta. The target population were nurses working in different sectors in the community, namely health centres, peripheral clinics and those working with the Malta Memorial District Nursing Association (MMDNA) in Malta. The overall findings revealed that nurses were highly aware of the role and functions of the FHN. In the findings the individuals/families that would benefit from the FHN's role were identified. In identifying the functions of the FHN the participants acknowledged the need for further education if nurses were to be competent to meet the needs of individuals/family effectively. The perceived hindrances for the introduction of the FHN were also explored. The findings showed the most common perceived factors to be human resources and educational facilities.