Health promotion in primary health care nursing: the development of quality indicators

Abstract

This paper describes the development of indicators of quality in the health promo tion work of primary health care nurses through a study commissioned by the Health Education Authority (HEA). The study commenced with a review of the accident- prevention literature in primary health care nursing and three in-depth workshops with locality-based project teams consisting of commissioners of primary health care nursing services, primary health care nurses themselves, and their managers. Potential indicators of quality were identified from the literature and explored further within the workshops. The second phase of the study involved refining and testing the relevance of the indicators in practice through stakeholder interviews and the third phase focused on case studies of six areas of primary health care nursing prac tice. Client perspectives were actively sought and ten consumer-focused process indicators emerged. These have the potential to provide measures of quality in health promotion activities undertaken by primary health care nurses.