title: Examining health problems and intensity of need for care in family-focused community and public health nursing.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to advance evidence-based family-focused community and public health nursing (C/PHN) practice by examining 2 important indicators of health need, family health problem labels, and intensity of need for care, and their relationship to each other. The Omaha System (OS; Martin & Scheet, 1992) was the framework used to classify the most common family health problems. Intensity of need for care was determined using the Community Health Intensity Rating Scale (CHIRS; Hays, Sather, & Peters, 1998). Secondary analysis of C/PHN clinical data was done using a descriptive correlational design (n = 205). An investigator scored the CHIRS and assigned OS family problems based on clinical record data. The mean number of family health problems per person was 4.40 (+/- 2.06). The mean CHIRS total score was 33.9 (+/- 6.34). The total number of OS problems was significantly correlated with CHIRS total scores (r = .586, p < .001). Family problem labels and intensity of need for care both provide essential information for health need determination in C/PHN practice.
authors: University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, 985330 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-5330, USA. kkaiser@unmc.edu
authors: Katherine Laux
authors: KL
authors: Kaiser
authors: Beverly J
authors: BJ
authors: Hays
authors: Won-Jung
authors: WJ
authors: Cho
authors: Sangeeta
authors: S
authors: Agrawal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019090:Case Management / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009329:Nebraska; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009733:Nursing Diagnosis; D011637:Public Health Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies