Development of a Public Health Nursing Data Infrastructure

• Published in: Public health Nursing Vol. 29; no. 4; pp. 343 - 351
• Main Authors: Monsen, Karen A., Bekemeier, Betty, P. Newhouse, Robin, Scutchfield, F. Douglas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-07-2012; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Data Collection; data infrastructure; Information management; Information Systems - organization & administration; Nursing; nursing workforce; Omaha System; Public health; Public Health Nursing - statistics & numerical data; public health nursing standards; public health systems; quantitative research; Research - trends; United States > US
• ISSN: 0737-1209; 1525-1446
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-1446.2011.00993.x

An invited group of national public health nursing (PHN) scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders met in October 2010 identifying a critical need for a national PHN data infrastructure to support PHN research. This article summarizes the strengths, limitations, and gaps specific to PHN data and proposes a research agenda for development of a PHN data infrastructure. Future implications are suggested, such as issues related to the development of the proposed PHN data infrastructure and future research possibilities enabled by the infrastructure. Such a data infrastructure has potential to improve accountability and measurement, to demonstrate the value of PHN services, and to improve population health.