Support matters: a mixed methods scoping study on the use of assistant staff in the delivery of community nursing services in England

Abstract

Abstract Abstract BackgroundCommunity nursing (and health) services are faced with the growing challenge of caring for increasingly dependent patients with chronic conditions and complex care needs. Over the past decade there have been changes in the composition of the community nursing workforce with increasing numbers of assistants yet there is a lack of published literature on the roles, contribution and impacts of community nursing assistants to the delivery of care and services.DesignWe adopted a three-stage approach for the scoping study using mixed quantitative and qualitative methods. First, we established contact with senior managers in provider organisations where we had research governance approval (n= 76; 75% of total provider organisations) to determine whether or not (a) they employ assistants within community nursing teams and (b) they would be interested in participating in the study. Second, we carried out a short telephone interview with al