Empowering Public Health Nurses and Community Home Visitors through Effective Communication Relationships
- Resource Type
- article
- Authors
- Debbie Sheppard-LeMoine; Megan Aston; Lisa Goldberg; Judy MacDonald; Deb Tamlyn
- Source
- Nursing Reports, Vol 11, Iss 3, Pp 652-665 (2021)
- Subject
- family
family nursing
community
public health nursing
health visiting
women
Nursing
RT1-120
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 11030062
2039-4403
2039-439X
Home visiting programs for marginalized families have included both Public Health Nurses (PHNs) and Community Home Visitors (CHV). Support for families requires health care providers to implement effective communication and collaboration practices; however, few studies have examined how this is carried out. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore how an Enhanced Home Visiting (EHV) program in Nova Scotia Canada was organized, delivered through the experiences of PHNs and CHVs. Feminist post-structuralism informed by discourse analysis was used to understand how their experiences were socially and institutionally constructed. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 PHNs and 8 CHVs and one focus group was held with 10 of the participants. A social discourse on mothering layered within a social discourse of working with a vulnerable population added a deeper understanding of how communication was constructed through the everyday practices of PHNs and CHVs. Findings may be used to inform reporting and communication practices between health care providers who work with marginalized families.