Public Health Nursing

Background. In the field of public health in Germany, nurses are scarcely represented. Whereas public health nursing in the United States and in many European countries is a very traditional and well-known field, that is not the case in Germany. Nevertheless, new challenges in health care make it absolutely necessary that nurses contribute to disease prevention at all levels of health care. Aim. The aim of this paper is to describe the focal points of public health nursing to date. In doing so, the author analyses the results of a qualitative study that inspected public health-oriented nursing activities in different European countries. Four different concepts of public health nursing are present ed, and their relevance to German conditions is examined. Results. Within health care settings, health promotion in recent years has mainly centered on patient information, counseling, and education. There has so far been no participation in the fields of primary prevention. However, nursing practice shows that, with their experience and competence, nurses have many opportunities to participate in various fields of primary prevention.