Primary care parish nursing: academic, service, and parish partnership

Parish nurse-initiated interdisciplinary mobile health care delivery project

Parish nurses and a school of pharmacy faculty collaborated on a mobile health project to bring screening and preventive services to low-income neighborhoods. Outcome measures indicated that older women were most likely to use these services. This project fostered a positive, trusting client-provider relationship that formed the basis of clients' motivation to make lifestyle changes. Future direction includes collaboration with an academic nursing center to expand services in chronic care management.

Differences between parish nurses and parish nurse associates: results of a statewide survey of an ecumenical network

OBJECTIVES

To gather data that would help a parish nurse network to better understand its participants and to explore differences between parish nurses who had completed the basic preparation class versus those who had not in terms of engagement in activities. DESIGN, SAMPLE, AND MEASUREMENTS: A mail survey, including items related to communal orientation, was developed and sent to members of a state-wide parish nurse network (n=265), with 165 surveys returned for a 62% response rate for this descriptive study.

RESULTS

Approximately half of the parish nurses indicated that they entered this specialty through church contacts (27.0%) or through the encouragement of family/friends (22.7%). Nurses not completing parish nursing education/training (47%) were significantly more likely to (a) be younger (55 vs. 59 years of age), (b) work fewer hours (8 vs. 16), and (c) provide fewer activities/services for their congregations (4.8 vs. 6.2). Overall, the nurses described themselves as being "communally oriented," that is, desiring to give and receive benefits in response to others' needs.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings support previous speculations that some self-identified parish nurses function in an "associate" role. Such associates lack the basic preparation class in parish nursing and work fewer hours each month.

21st century rural nursing: Navajo Traditional and Western medicine

Past experiences enhance the future. Health care providers gaining expertise in creative thinking, traditional medicine, spirituality, and cultural sensitivity is an essential requirement for 21st century health care. We must stay mindful that poverty, isolation, and rural living may create new forms of social exclusion because of lack of communication and rapidly changing technology. Conversely, sensory overload resulting from a faster paced lifestyle and rapid enhancements in technology may cause increased tension and stress. This article reviews successes that may offer the reader ideas on coping with the provision of health care services in such a volatile changing environment, while honoring tradition and cultural competency.

Client perceptions of parish nursing

The purpose of this study was to examine parish nursing from a client's perspective. Parish nursing is a relatively new health delivery model that has rarely been investigated. In order to describe the client perception, an ethnographic approach was used. The convenience sample included clients from two congregations in a southeastern Appalachian area served by parish nurses. Face-to-face client interviews were conducted, and the Spradley's ethnographic approach to data analysis of transcripts was used. Each interview was analyzed separately by the research group for patterns and meanings reflecting the emic perspective. Five themes of client perception of parish nursing emerged from the data: (1) being available, (2) integrating spirituality and health, (3) helping us help ourselves, (4) exploring parish nursing, and (5) evaluating parish nursing.Clients perceived having a parish nurse as positive and beneficial for individuals, the congregation, the church, and community. Parish nursing was viewed as a useful, meaningful, and effective health intervention and setting, and parish nurses were viewed as effective and meaningful health providers. Further exploration of the effectiveness of this nursing delivery model is warranted.