Measuring self-perceived public health nursing competencies using a quantitative approach.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND:
The contribution of nurses to the public health agenda is acknowledged in all health care systems. To integrate public health into nursing curricula competency based models are being proposed. Despite general agreement on public health competencies, there has been limited research on how community nursing students self-assess their public health competencies and the impact of public health programmes on qualifying students' self-assessed competence.

AIM:
The aim of this paper is to report on the development of a research tool to assess self-perceived public health competencies of community nursing students, pre and post studying on a community and public health nursing programme.

METHODS:
A pre and post intervention quantitative survey was conducted with a non-probability sample of community nursing students (n=108) studying on a public health programme. The questionnaire was developed using public health competencies derived from a United Kingdom (UK) national consensus exercise and informed by international literature. Analysis used SPSS, generating descriptive and inferential statistics.

RESULTS:
There were statistically significant improvements in students' self-perceived public health competencies following participation in the public health programme.

CONCLUSION:
It is possible to assess self-perceived competency in public health skills using a validated measurement tool.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Poulton, Brenda (B); McCammon, Valerie (V);

Affiliation: Institute of Nursing Research, University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Newtownabbey BT37 OQB, United Kingdom. BC.poulton(-atsign-)ulster.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Validation Studies

Journal: Nurse education today (Nurse Educ Today), published in Scotland. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Apr; vol 27 (issue 3) : pp 238-46

Dates: Created 2007/03/05; Completed 2007/05/25; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 16844266, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Attitude of Health Personnel
Clinical Competence - standards
Communication
Community Health Nursing - education
Curriculum
Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate - standards
Educational Measurement - methods
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Great Britain
Humans
Leadership
Models, Nursing

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.