| Records |
| Author |
Wilson, H.V. |
| Title |
Surveillance or support: Divergent discourses in Plunket nursing practice |
Type  |
|
| Year |
2000 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
Victoria University of Wellington Library |
| Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
| Keywords |
Public health; Children; Community health nursing; Plunket |
| Abstract |
Plunket nurses are New Zealand child health nurses who work in the community with the families of new babies and preschool children. Their work is called child health surveillance and this is considered to involve routine and unproblematic practices which are generally carried out in homes and clinics in the context of a relationship with the child's mother (Ministry of Health 1996; Royal New Zealand Plunket Society 1997). However, evidence in the literature that surveillance can have implications for power relations throws doubts on official claims that the relationship between the mother and nurse operates as a partnership (Trout and Polaschek 1996). The purpose of this thesis was to explore the way in which surveillance is constituted within the discourses of Plunket nurses and to examine these discourses for any implications of unequal power relations. Foucauldian discourse theory and poststructuralism, which informed this thesis, provided the opportunity to challenge assumptions about power and knowledge in the child health context. Analysis of the discourses generated by interviews with five Plunket nurses revealed that, contrary to the claims in the official literature, the relationship between the Plunket nurse and the mother is not that of an equal partnership but is constituted in various and unexpected ways. It was through the nurses' discourses of surveillance that the power relations underpinning this relationship were surfaced. While these discourses suggested that many mothers who use the nursing service are actively involved on their own terms, there are a number of women for whom the surveillance activities of the nurse have been shown to be particularly intrusive (Mayall 1986; Clinton 1988; Bloor and McIntosh 1990; Knott and Latter 1999). It may be primarily this unwelcome surveillance which accounts for the considerable number of women who, the statistics show, cease using Plunket services particularly in the early months. It is perhaps for this reason that the nurses in this study locate themselves as being caught between divergent discourses of support and surveillance. Findings indicate that the resolution of this dilemma by abandoning surveillance practices might improve maternal satisfaction with the Plunket nursing service. The author concludes that a child health service responsive to mothers' stated needs rather than institutional requirements or the nurse's own agenda could lead to a more open and equal relationship between mother and nurse. This relationship would be likely to benefit mothers and babies and, at the same time, enhance both nursing practice and nurses' satisfaction with their work. |
| Call Number |
NRSNZNO @ research @ |
Serial |
899 |
| Permanent link to this record |
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| Author |
Roddick, J.A. |
| Title |
When the flag flew at half mast: Nursing and the 1918 influenza epidemic in Dunedin |
Type |
|
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
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Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
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| Keywords |
History of nursing; Public health |
| Abstract |
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| Call Number |
NRSNZNO @ research @ 1120 |
Serial |
1105 |
| Permanent link to this record |
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| |
| Author |
Hinder, G. |
| Title |
Challenging the boundaries: An initiative to extend public health nursing practice |
Type |
|
| Year |
2000 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
Massey University, Palmerston North, Library |
| Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
| Keywords |
Public health; Scope of practice; Nursing |
| Abstract |
|
| Call Number |
NRSNZNO @ research @ |
Serial |
1264 |
| Permanent link to this record |
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| |
| Author |
Mahoney, L. |
| Title |
Making the invisible visible: Public health nurses role with children who live with a parent with a mental illness |
Type |
|
| Year |
2008 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
NZNO Library |
| Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
| Keywords |
Public health; Children; Community health nursing; Scope of practice |
| Abstract |
This research uses focus group methodology to examine the public health nursing practice with children living with a mentally ill parent. These children are often neglected, yet are at increased risk of developing mental illnesses themselves. The research data identified the burgeoning impact on public health nurses of such care, and found their role to be primarily assessment and advocacy. |
| Call Number |
NRSNZNO @ research @ 1304 |
Serial |
1289 |
| Permanent link to this record |
