Cooperation between the health visitor and the physician as one of the pillars of the 108-year-old Hungarian Health Visitor Service

Abstract

Despite the more than 100-year history of the Hungarian Health Visitor Service, no study has yet been carried out that looked back at the cooperation between health visitors and physicians. Our aim was 1) to explore the professional advances of the health visitor service and the cooperation between health visitor and physician by examining historical documents, legal and professional regulations governing the work of health visitor, furthermore, 2) to investigate whether there are compulsory training elements in today's training for health visitors that prepare students for health visitor and physician collaboration, moreover, 3) to search for old tools and documents used by health visitors and doctors in the North-West of Transdanubia. A literature search was carried out to identify documents relating to the development of the work of health visitors, the cooperation between health visitors and physicians, past and current legal and professional regulations, the current regulation on training of health visitors. Through field research, we tracked down old tools and documents of health visitors and physicians. The establishment of the Hungarian Health Visitor Service is associated with the names of professors of medicine. The historical documents and regulations testify the development of the work of the health visitor, the expansion of her competences and the importance of the health visitor and physician cooperation. The training competences required for the cooperation between health visitors and physicians, health visitors and specialists are regulated by the regulation on training of health visitors. We have found many old objects and documents used in the work of the health visitor and doctor. The documents that have preserved almost invariably describe the health visitor as a person working alongside the physician, in cooperation with the physician. Nowadays, the regulation of cooperation covers for all specialties in the field of health visitor. Based on our research, it is fair to say that the health visitor-physician cooperation is an important pillar of the 108-year-old Hungarian Health Visitor Service. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(33): 1311-1318.