[The role of the nurse in the field of public health]. / El rol de la enfermería en el ámbito de la salud pública.

OBJECTIVE: Identify the role of public health nurses and differentiate it from that of community care nurses in the context of Catalonia, through the experiences and perspectives of professionals in the field of public health. METHOD: Descriptive phenomenological qualitative study. Fourteen interviews were conducted with key informants, from the field of public health and community care, selected by i purposive sampling. Content analysis using thematic methodology, creation of categories from the triangulation of results. RESULTS: The professional competencies and functions performed by nursing in the field of public health are analysed. Most of the specific functions were the ones related to "care" and the "global vision" of health. The indeterminacy of functions and roles, related to gender inequality, leads to a low recognition of the profession and a lack of appropriateness of the professional category, reflected in a low presence of nurses in management positions in public health. Although some competencies are shared with the family and community nurse, there are also differences. CONCLUSIONS: This study sheds light on the role of public health nursing, often overlooked. It is urgent to define public health nurses role and functions, in order to avoid inequalities and increase their recognition.

Validation of a Questionnaire to Analyze the Expectations of First-Year Nursing Students.

AIM: The aim of this study was to design and validate a questionnaire to analyze students' expectations, along with their level of interest and overall satisfaction with their nursing studies. BACKGROUND: The expectations of students on entering university are closely related to the level of interest that they have in their area of study and their general satisfaction with it. This is certainly a conditioning factor in their learning. In this regard, there are few quantitative instruments that measure the expectations of first-year nursing students. METHOD: A mixed questionnaire was constructed using items validated in previous studies, along with new items formulated following a review of the literature. The questionnaire was validated with a sample of 339 first-year degree program nursing students. RESULTS: The scales of expectations and degree of interest showed strong internal consistency (Cronbach's α > .7). CONCLUSION: The questionnaire to evaluate the expectations and interest of students demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties.