[Nurse-led in Primary Health Care setting: a well-timed and promising organizational innovation].
At present, the severe economic crisis along with the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases is leading to different countries to consider updating their Primary Health Care (PHC) services in order to make them more efficient and reduce health inequalities. To that end, various initiatives are being carried out, such as the provision of Nurse-led services and interventions. The purpose of this article is to present the available knowledge, controversies and opportunities for Nurse-led initiatives in the setting of PHC. Nurse- led interventions or health services in PHC have proven to be equal or more effective than usual care in disease prevention, the routine follow-up of patients with chronic conditions, and first contact care for people with minor illness. However, as there are only a few health economic evaluation studies published their efficiency is still potential. In conclusion, the Nurse-led care could be an innovative organizational initiative with the potential to provide an adequate response to the contemporary health needs of the population, as well as an opportunity for the nursing profession and for PHC and health systems in general.
Escuela Universitaria de Enfermería Gimbernat, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, España.
Marc
M
Torres-Ricarte
Escuela Universitaria de Enfermería Gimbernat, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, España.
Ernest
E
Crusat-Abelló
Escuela Universitaria de Enfermería Gimbernat, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, España. Electronic address: silviaprodriguez@hotmail.com.
Silvia
S
Peñuelas-Rodríguez
Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària (IDIAP) Jordi Gol, Barcelona, España; Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, España.
Edurne
E
Zabaleta-del-Olmo
D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000451:nursing; D006801:Humans; D009729:Nursing; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D057184:Practice Patterns, Nurses' / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*
Atención Primaria de Salud; Enfermeras de Salud Comunitaria; Health services research; Investigación sobre servicios de salud; Nurse role; Nurses Community Health; Nursing practice patterns; Pautas prácticas de enfermería; Primary Health Care; Rol de la enfermera