Citation

Farrelly T, Flaherty S, Healy H. Public Health Nurs. 2019; 36(3): 341-347.

Affiliation

Health Service Executive, Tralee, Co. Kerry, Ireland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/phn.12595

PMID

30815907

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to understand the contemporary public health nurse's (PHN) role and the issues that they face working in rural Ireland. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: This study was based on an ethnographic approach with 13 PHNs working in rural areas in the South West of Ireland. MEASUREMENTS: A combination of solicited diaries and semi-structured interviews referred to as the diary/interview method were employed. Diaries were used by the PHNs to record their working day on a staggered basis from February to April 2017 with the subsequent interviews carried out in June and July 2017.

RESULTS: Working as a PHN in a rural area presented a number of issues such as time spent on traveling as a result of geographical disparity & poor road networks; client transport issues; a sense of working in isolation; communication issues with respect to computer/tablet hardware availability, mobile phone and broadband connectivity and the availability of, and the physical access to services.

CONCLUSION: PHNs operating in rural communities face a distinct set of challenges that they have a limited ability to address. Legislators, health care providers and policymakers need to create a supportive environment that helps address these challenges in Ireland.

© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

community health nursing; diaries; public health nursing practice; qualitative research; rural health