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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Deborah W Kiel, MSN, Barnes College of Nursing at University of Missouri - St. Louis, University of Missouri - St. Louis, Nursing Administration - Room 206, 8001 Natural Bridge Rd., Saint Louis, MO 63121, 314-516-7060, kield@msx.umsl.edu, Alvyne Rethemeyer, MSN, Deaconess Parish Nurse Ministries, 475 E Lockwood, St. Louis, MO 63119, and Constance Brooks, PhD, RN, CS, Public Health Nursing, University of Missouri Columbia, Sinclair School of Nursing, S328 School of Nursing Building, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211-4120.
Public Health Nursing, known for its role in primary prevention and often the last line of defense for the most vulnerable of the population, continues to loose recruits to its ranks and positions in which to recruit them. Also before us is the greatest nursing shortage in history coupled with increasing demand for services. These trends spark a question. How will nurses meet population-based needs in a climate of increasing demand and decreasing resources? Part of the answer is emerging from the communities themselves. The climate that made for the emergence of Lillian Wald has spawned another nurse entrepreneur - the parish nurse. Parish nurses are filling gaps in population-based care and reviving the dimension of spiritual care within communities.
In order to document and examine this trend, the child and family focused activities of 27 parish nurses in a large metropolitan area were studied to develop a model of parish nursing for children and families. The resultant nursing model, with case studies from parish nurses and their client-families were used to evaluate the impact of the parish nurses' ministry on this population. The result is a spiritually based, population-focused nursing model spanning urban and suburban populations and a variety of family compositions. The model documents parish nurses' ability to link congregations with vulnerable neighborhoods surrounding the church, create cross-generational models of care, and link vulnerable families with community agencies and resources. The model also highlights spirituality in delivering holistic community-based care through program and peer support.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Community-Based Public Health, Faith Community
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.