Community practitioner : the journal of the Community Practitioners' & Health Visitors' Association
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There is limited evidence concerning leadership in community nursing. NHS policy also fails to clarify and define what leadership is, though regarding it as key to developing safe and high quality care. This paper reports the findings of a research study that aimed to identify how leadership is perceived and experienced by community nurses, and to examine the interaction between recent policy and leadership development in community nursing. ⋯ The strategic vision was often not clear to community nurses, and they engaged in differing ways with the strategies and action plans of senior nurse leaders. New leadership roles, like change, need time to evolve and new leaders need space and the education to develop leadership. Future leaders in community nursing need to focus beyond clinical leadership, ensuring that good leadership is a process requiring interdependence between leaders and followers.
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Travellers in Ireland continue to experience health disparity, cultural fragmentation and a lack of visibility in health service provision. This paper reports on a pilot study exploring factors that affect Traveller health and the experiences of primary care services from the perspectives of key Traveller health stakeholders in Ireland. ⋯ The findings highlight the importance of consulting Traveller communities in the design of a primary care service framework within each local needs analysis. The promotion of Traveller advocacy, visible access and referral pathways can therefore be achieved, with PHCT workers acting as a 'bridge' between Travellers and the designated area primary care team.