Recorded presentation

Karen Nielsen-Menicucci, PhD, RN, CNS, School of Nursing, California State University, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032, 323.343.4194, nielsenmenicucci@att.net

By the year 2005, there will be over 1.25 million workers involved in providing nursing care to individuals in their homes. There is limited empirical data available on the issue of safety of nurses within the context of home visiting or in the public health venue. The purpose of this study was to explore and explain the perception of safety among field public health nurses. A purposive sample of 19 public health nurses, currently employed in an official public health department in Southern California, participated in semi-structured interviews. This study used grounded theory research methodology for data analysis. Findings of this study have provided a substantive theory of the process of keeping safe for field public health nurses. This process has three stages, (a) risk awareness, (b) risk estimation, and (c) risk limitation. Public health nurses maintained risk awareness through vigilance. Universally, the nurses in this study were vigilant regarding idle young men, dogs, suspicious and threatening behavior, substance abuse, angry family members, and communicable diseases. Risk estimation involved the nurses’ estimation of their own vulnerability and safety decision-making. The final stage of the emerging theory constituted the actions taken by the nurse while keeping safe. Risk limitation actions either prevented or avoided actual or perceived risks. The process of keeping safe continued to evolve for public health nurses with the influence of peer and supervisory support, family, feelings, and vicarious knowledge. The findings of this study have implications for nursing education, practice, and research.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the process of keeping safe for field public health nurses.
• Analyze the stage of risk awareness.
• Apply the areas of vulnerability to current public health nursing practice.
• Contrast risk prevention and risk avoidance strategies.
• Determine areas of further research in the area of safety for the current venues of public health nursing.

Keywords: Safety, Public Health Nursing

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.

Recorded presentation