King's College London , Department of Nursing Studies , Community Nursing Needs Assessment Project

The Community Nursing Needs Assessment Project was undertaken in response to the NHS and Community Care Act 1990. The project dealt principally with the ability of health visitors and district nurses to meet the new legislative requirements when addressing the needs of their patients and to suggest modifications to nursing education based on the findings. The project was sponsored by the English National Board for Nursing and based at King's College London, conducted by the Department of Nursing Studies and led by Professor Sarah Cowley, Lecturer in Health Visiting. Other researchers on the project included Ann Bergen, lecturer, Kate Young, lecturer and Ann Kavanagh, research associate. The project consisted of three phases: phase one involved a series of eight focus groups made up of consumers (members of local support groups, carers and those with disabilities) , practitioners (district nurses and health visitors), managers (purchasers and providers) and educationalists (community practice teachers and lecturers). Phase two involved observing recently qualified district nurses and health workers with patients and clients and following up with an interview with the district nurse or health worker on needs assessment. Phase three involved discussing the findings and preliminary proposals with an expert panel made up from the various interest groups. The project ran from Mar 1994 to Jan 1996. The full project title is `An investigation into the changing educational needs of community nurses with regard to needs assessment and quality of care in the context of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990'.