[Family nurses in Italy: an explorative survey].

. Family nurses in Italy: an explorative survey.

Introduction: The Family and Community Nurses (FCN) are unevenly distributed throughout Italy.

Aim: to describe the numbers, functions and work situation of FCNs in Italy.

Methods: A questionnaire with 24 multiple-choice questions was sent to 60 Nursing and health professions District managers, to explore numerical standards of reference, recruitment methods, training, work environments and methods, hierarchical and functional dependencies, functions performed and level of autonomy.

Results: 38 (63%) managers from 14 regions responded. In 26 (68%) districts, FCNs are employed with numbers ranging from 2 to 350 per district (median FCN/inhabitants ratio of approximately 1/16.000 inhabitants (IQR 10.000-40.000). Nurses with at least 2 years of work experience (in home or medical care) were selected, and all have attended or are currently attending a training course (university, regional - 40% of the districts - or internal courses). In almost all Districts FCNs hierarchically depend on the Nurse Manager while functionally from the District Nurse or Medical Director. FCNs mostly work in multidisciplinary teams and in most Districts (21, 80%) perceive good levels of autonomy.

Conclusions: Although a limited number of managers responded, these data provide a cross-section of the variability of numbers and organization at district level.