WHITHER HEALTH VISITING … AGAIN?

Burrell, Jane (2011) WHITHER HEALTH VISITING … AGAIN? Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

This descriptive, qualitative study asks “Whither Health Visiting…Again?” and
provides a window into a significant period for the profession of health visiting, from
September 2004 - December 2009. It explores the professional identity of health
visiting from its inception to its recent past, whilst considering the notion and construct
of professional identity. The study examines the nature and degree of influences
affecting the role and identity of health visiting, whilst investigating the contextual
discourses associated with its service.
The participants in this study are senior health visitors, and health visitor educators
engaged in the training and education of health visitors throughout England. This
inquiry demonstrates the considerable confusion and uncertainty that presently exists
around the role and identity of health visiting and it shows how health visiting is
subject to a significant degree of multifaceted influence. The most significant
influences are shown to be those derived from government and its associated bodies,
particularly those with NHS strategic, operational, commissioning, managerial and
professional regulatory authority. The Nursing and Midwifery Council, and specifically
its new nursing regulatory register, is considered to be the most influential factor on
the professional identity of health visiting.
Individual health visitors appear to have minimal power and influence over their role
and identity. The findings also indicate that the general public and consumers of the
health visiting service are perceived as having some of the least influence on health
visiting. This study indicates the strong desire of health visitors for more effective
leadership, within their own profession, nursing, and wider governmental bodies.
The study recommends that further research is conducted to investigate the nature
and degree of the influence of provider and purchasing bodies on - the workforce
numbers of health visitors; the design and commissioning of health visiting services,
and health visitor opportunities for leadership within the realms of family and child
health services.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	Users 2259 not found.
Date Deposited:	12 Mar 2014 15:22
Last Modified:	12 Mar 2014 15:22
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/48121
DOI:

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