Ushio Yuko

The number of children requiring medical care is on the rise, reducing childcare burdens and establishing support systems' urgent undertakings. Public health nurses at public health centers are in a position to shoulder these responsibilities. This study aimed to clarify the activities performed by public health nurses at public health centers for children requiring medical care based on the content of support in individual cases. Interview surveys covering a summary of support and community resources were conducted for four individual cases. Analysis was performed using the practical competencies framework required of public health nurses at public health centers.As a result, 260 activities of public health nurses were organized into 79 codes and 39 categories and categorized according to the framework of practical competencies required of public health nurses at public health centers. Public health nurses at public health centers were found to provide direct support, categorized into“interpersonal support competency,”based on the prerequisite that patients require 24-hour medical care, and characterized by connecting medicine and welfare to manage the family unit. Public health nurses also provide indirect support, categorized into“community support competency,”“policy competency,”and“management competency,”in which they were understood to be attempting to build a care system through individual support.