Purpose The present study aimed to identify practical difficulties experienced by public health nurses working in municipalities in relation to the development of projects and social resources, and examine differences in these difficulties according to the period of experience as public health nurses and their affiliation.

Methods The subjects were 590 public health nurses working in Prefecture A, and anonymous, self-completed questionnaire forms were sent to them by mail. Descriptions of practical difficulties in relation to the development of projects and social resources were grouped into twenty-one items, based on the results of previous studies, to present the status of practical difficulties according to the period of experience as public health nurses and their affiliation. The Kruskal-Wallis test (Bonferroni’s multiple comparison correction as the subordinate test) was conducted to examine the relationships between practical difficulties experienced by public health nurses and differences in their affiliation and period of experience.

Results Responses were obtained from 336 public health nurses (response rate: 56.9%), and 313 valid responses (response rate: 93.2%) were analyzed, excluding those that included defects. Regarding their affiliation, the most common answer was “municipalities” (76.7%), followed by “municipalities with public health centers” (14.7%) and “prefectures” 8.6%. The mean (± standard deviation) age was 40.8 ± 10.1 years old. The mean period of experience as public health nurses was 16.4 ± 10.5 years. The largest numbers of public health nurses in all groups of affiliation and experience stated that they had practical difficulties because of “a lack of manpower”. A significant difference was found in five different items according to both the affiliation and public health nurses years of experience classifications.

Conclusion The most common issue in the practice was “a lack of manpower”, and it resulted in an environment that the practice is difficult to perform. Public health nurses affiliated to municipalities with public health center reported practical difficulties more frequently. The most common practical difficulties in public health nurses with 1-5 years of experience were the lack of chances to practice, and lack of knowledge and skills; and in those with 16-25 years and more than 26 years of experience were organizational and environmental issues. It would be necessary to help public health nurses address these practical difficulties associated with their affiliation and period of experience as public health nurses in order to promote their practice and improve their practical skills in relation to the development of projects and social resources.