Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing (한국보건간호학회지)

Korean Society of public Health Nursing (한국보건간호학회)
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Actual Conditions and Improvement Strategies regarding the Nursing Workforce in Public Health Centers

보건소의 간호인력 실태와 개선 방안

  • Han, Young Ran (Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, Dongguk University) ;
  • Yang, Sook Ja (College of Nursing, Ewha Women's University)
  • Received : 2017.11.12
  • Accepted : 2017.12.19
  • Published : 2017.12.31
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Abstract

Purpose: Public health centers (PHCs) provide a variety of healthcare services according to the Regional Public Health Act (RPHA). We aim to analyze the changes in public healthcare services according to the legislation and the number of public health nurse (PHN) involved in the service, and propose an alternative to effectively distribute the public health nursing workforce for protecting the health rights of people. Methods: This is a review study that deduced the results from literature review. Results: During the revision of the PHC law to the RPHA, several services were added. Health related laws have forced the PHCs to provide services for these legislations. Consequently, the workload on the PHNs has been increasing. However, the PHNs have been consistently lacking. In 2017, there are 16.2 full-time nurses per center. Furthermore, About 50% of the PHCs are not meeting the minimum requirements of licensed or qualified health professional workforce outlined in 1997. In addition, 43% of the nurses in the PHCs are part-time nurses. Conclusion: We suggest that the minimum requirements of health professional workforce should be modified to reflect the increase in the workload of PHNs, and a legislation to enforce PHCs to fulfill these requirements is needed.

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