Measures and factors for regularly and effectively holding case conferences to improve quality of care provided by public health nurses for individuals and families: A qualitative descriptive study.

Abstract

This study clarified the measures and necessary factors for regularly and effectively conducting case conferences to improve the quality of public health nurses' care for individuals and families. We employed a qualitative descriptive design. The study fields were three Japanese municipalities that regularly held case conferences for at least a year to improve the quality of public health nurses' care for individuals and families. The first author conducted semi-structured interviews with three lead public health nurses and two nurses responsible for case conference projects. The audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim and categorized. Interviews were conducted between December 2021 and May 2022. Measures to regularly and effectively conduct case conferences included "creating a system to promote case conferences," "preparations to achieve case conference objectives," and "case conference progress management." Factors included "resources for promoting case conferences in the organization," "public health nurses' attitudes toward care," and "an environment that allows discussions about care." Lead public health nurses can use the results as a reference to implement the identified measures in their organizations. The factors can enable lead public health nurses to evaluate the status of their organization regarding conducting case conferences.