A comparison of the cornerstones of public health nursing in Norway and in the United States.

OBJECTIVES This study describes a comparison of the values and beliefs foundational to community nursing practice in Norway with the Cornerstones of Public Health Nursing based on public health nursing practice in the United States. DESIGN AND SAMPLE Methods included a review of the literature and focus groups to determine primary beliefs and values foundational to nursing practice in family, school, and home care settings in Norway. MEASURES Authors reviewed documents written in English and Norwegian for content on values and beliefs represented in public health nursing. Data were gathered from two focus group meetings each with school, home care, and family health nurses in Norway (n = 19; n = 11). METHOD Focus group questions addressed aspects of the values and beliefs of public health that are foundational to public health nursing. The researchers synthesized content themes of literature and focus groups. RESULTS Nine Norwegian cornerstones emerged from literature and focus groups. Six of the cornerstones were the same as the cornerstones from the United States, two were modified, and one new cornerstone emerged from the data. CONCLUSIONS The values and beliefs represented in the different modified cornerstones based on Norwegian community nursing practice capture the essence of public health nursing in Norway. The similarities between the two countries show that nurses have much in common, despite different health and governmental systems and laws.