The relative roles of the public health nurse and the physician in prenatal and infant supervision.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the relative roles of physician and nurse in providing prenatal and well-baby care within the framework of a prepaid medical group practice and to modify the pattern of practice to utilize the nurse''s services more broadly. Obstetrical registrants were randomly assigned to a study group for the experimental care in which the services of a public health nrrse were utilized, and to a control group in which all of the care was rendered by an obstetrician or pediatrician. Sources of data were: self-administered mailed questionnaires; personal inter-views with a patient sample; interviews with physicians and nurse; subjective evaluations of each patient by physician and nurse; patient''s medical records; and diaries kept by the nurse, administrator and research team. Results showed that study group patients had fewer visits to physicians than control patients and that the nurse''s role and services were well accepted by study patients. The public health nurse is apparently effective in helping to provide coordinated medical care while reducing the total volume of the physician''s services.