Abstract
The purpose of this study is to clarify the situation of Japanese Public Health Nurses (PHNs) in the conduct of community health assessment. Related articles published in Japanese journals from January 1998 to January 2005 were analyzed according to : 1) how they acquired essential skills in community health assessment, 2) what kind of practical methods were used by PHNs, 3) what were the difficulties of PHNs in assessing community health issues. Review of articles showed the following results: 1. There were differences in terms of community health assessment as a required course. A specialized curriculum for public health nursing would be influential. 2. To assess the community, PHNs collect information through analysis of existing documents, interview, and questionnaires. The most-used method for community health assessment is descriptive epidemiology to show the community health problem as a quantitative data. 3. For collecting information and assessing the health issues, PHNs organized interdisciplinary project team including residents. This method is advantageous because PHNs can collect information, share the community health problems with many people, and promote the project smoothly. 4. PHNs felt difficulties in community health assessment because they did not know how to identify the health issues. It is necessary to clarify the assessment skills which the PHNs can integrate in daily practices.
