Developments in Community Nursing Within Primary Health Care Teams - Part II A Review of the Literature 1974 - 1982

In this part of the Report on developments in community nursing, published material (in the period 1974 - December 1982 inclusive) and in particular those involving health visitors, district nurses and practice nurses, were examined with the aim of forming a view on areas or

innovations where research is called for. (In other parts of the report this view is augmented by information obtained from professional bodies and chief nursing officers of districts.)

In this literature search. which included published registers of research in progress, we identified several areas where developments do not appear so far to have been sufficiently evaluate~ or alternatives explored. These areas are:-

1. Organisation of community nursing.

2. Community evening and night nursing services.

3. Provision of primary care aides (i.e. persons providing

4. both domestic and personal help to patients).

5. The roles of health visitors and district nurses.

6. Nurses working in the treatment rooms/surgery premises.

7. Schemes to keep patients in the community as much as

possible.

8. Regular screening of the elderly by community nursing

staff.

9. The consumer viewpoint.

Generally whilst the literature search suggested that a wide variety of schemes had been tried out, formal evaluations were uncommon. Most commonly schemes were described and impressions about their effects were

reportedl anything approaching a controlled trial was extremely rare.

The literature revealed little evidence of attempts to appraise standards of care in schemes implemented. Also there was no evidence of a concerted attack directed at particular issuesl most studies and schemes seemed to take place in isolation from those of other innovators.