Important Interactional Strategies for Everyday Public Health Nursing Practice

Abstract

This Clinical Concepts article concerns the relational tools required by public health nurses to establish relationships with single mothers living on public assistance, mothers who are vulnerable and often stigmatized. The implications of stigmatization for relationship building are highlighted based on previous research investigating how public health nurses working in Canadian jurisdictions establish professional caring relationships with this cohort of mothers. Public health nurses employed interactional strategies including engaging in a positive manner and offering verbal commendations which served as effective relational tools to break through mothers' walls of defensiveness and to resume the dynamic process of relationship building. Building Relationship is a key practice standard for public health nurses and is instrumental to their work at both individual and community levels to improve social determinants of health. The author concludes with recommendations to facilitate building relationships during everyday public health nursing practice.

Parent engagement and therapeutic alliance in allied health teletherapy programs

“…This relationship with Hougaard's model is illustrated in Figure 1. Porr (2009Porr ( , 2013 and Porr et al's (2012) theoretical model, for systematically building alliance and hence building engagement, is also consistent with PACECIT. Both models theorise that the parents' observations and experience of the health professional's manner of speech, non-verbal communication, actions, information and partnership are evaluated for evidence of the professional's respect and empathy, so stimulating alliance.…”

“…Both models theorise that the parents' observations and experience of the health professional's manner of speech, non-verbal communication, actions, information and partnership are evaluated for evidence of the professional's respect and empathy, so stimulating alliance. Porr (2009Porr ( , 2013 describes specific verbal and non-verbal communication techniques used by the health professionals in her study to achieve parent engagement efficiently, which she theorised addressed specific parent needs. Porr et al (2012) posit that these same techniques build engagement and alliance by helping the parents meet the five Core Social Motives described in Fiske's BUCET model, that affect thinking, feeling and behaviour in social situations (Fiske, 2003(Fiske, ,2019.…”

A qualitative study exploring parental perspectives and involvement in health visiting services during the Health Visitor Implementation Plan in the South West of England

“…Ultimately the parents’ perspectives on the health visiting service were a spread of positive and more challenging experiences. The perceptions of the parents may well have been influenced by their individual backgrounds, not least by any previous experience of stigmatisation and their feelings of self‐worth (Porr ). When a parent feels that they need the service most, the perception may be that health visitors are least likely to be able to support them at the level parents expect.…”

Insider perspectives: Qualitative insight from health visitor practice teachers and managers in 2012/13

“…Ultimately the parents' perspectives on the health visiting service were a spread of positive and more challenging experiences. The perceptions of the parents may well have been influenced by their individual backgrounds, not least any previous experience of stigmatisation and their feelings of self-worth (Porr 2015). When a parent feels that they need the service most, the perception may be that health visitors are least likely to be able to support them at the level parents expect.…”