2016 Volume 65 Issue 1 Pages 24-35
Health inequalities in the individual and regional level becomes even greater health issue in 2025. Public health nursing personnel need to be fostered over the next 5 years in order to equip them to deal with it. This paper discusses the approaches to do the same in light of current conditions and issues.By 2025, public health nursing should fulfill 3 roles: (1) increasing the health literacy of individuals; (2) producing "facilitators" to promote self-help and mutual assistance in the community, based on the concept of health promotion; and (3) creating frameworks to support systems, e.g., creating and implementing care systems in the community.Two approaches are proposed for fostering public health nursing personnel over the next 5 years: to develop practical proficiency, and to foster leaders in public health nursing. Public health nursing will in turn develop through practices based on evidence, systemic thinking, introspection, community empowerment, and collaboration among different professions.Personnel can be fostered by helping them gain proficiency (practical knowledge), establishing systems for on-the-job training, coordination with universities, and supporting public health nurses at public health centers to meet the expectations of local municipalities. Methodologies for fostering personnel need to be established so that they can attain the required level of proficiency.
