Specialist Nurses in Municipal Primary Care - An Unclear Professional Role

The aim of the project is to clarify how the competence of specialist nurses can be utilised in municipal primary care.

The project is conducted in collaboration with Halmstad Municipality and Askersund Municipality with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of how the competence of specialist nurses can be utilised in municipal primary care.

Caring for elderly people is complex due to the constant changes in the interaction between ageing, illness, and the various healthcare providers. Complex care situations require knowledge of the different components. To make assessments in complex situations, in-depth knowledge of nursing, the elderly person’s life situation, illness, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment, and the organisation of care is needed.

Government inquiries highlight that more specialist nurses must be employed in municipal primary care. Health-promoting and preventive measures must be prioritised while municipal primary care must meet the needs of a larger number of elderly people requiring care. The competence of specialist nurses is utilised differently depending on the specialty and context, and there is a lack of an overarching description of the competence of specialist nurses and how this competence should be utilised.

The project consists of five sub-studies where different methods (integrative literature review, focus group interviews, individual interviews, and workshops) are used to capture the existing knowledge base, processes, and phenomena.