Comparison of characteristic competencies of public health nurses working at a community general support center and health and welfare in public administration in Japan

Objectives: To compare the characteristic competencies of public health nurses working for the older adult’s health and welfare in public administration (“PA”) with those at community general support centers (“CGSC”) in Japan. Methods: We conducted a questionnaire survey by mail for PA and CGSC public health nurses. A competency list that was developed to compare three groups (PA, CGSC experts with ≥5 years of experience, and CGSC newcomers with ≤2 years of experience) was used. The following characteristics were examined: (1) competencies acquired early after arriving at the CGSC, (2) competencies acquired through a certain amount of CGSC experience, (3) common competencies, (4) competencies that even experts lacked, and (5) competencies that the newcomers lacked. Results: We examined the responses of 171 PA nurses, 185 CGSC expert public health nurses, and 165 CGSC newcomer public health nurses. The results of comparison of the three groups showed that (1) had no applicable items; (2) had nine items for individual support associated with preventive care management; (3) had 14 items including teamwork among three professionals (social workers, senior care manager, public health nurse)/other professionals and self-improvement; (4) had three items for community development, (5) had two items for individual support and 16 items for community development. Conclusion: Initiatives for preventive care and coordination of care teams should be supported and suggested as characteristic competencies for CGSC public health nurses.