Mixed-method analysis of the quad council competencies for public health nurses

Objective Evaluate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA) of public health nurses (PHNs) related to the eight Domains of the 2011 Quad Council Competencies for Public Health Nurses (QCC-PHN). This manuscript is Part 2 of an exploratory study published in the Public Health Nursing journal on PHNs' knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of the Quad Council Competencies (Harmon et al., 2020). Design In this mixed-method descriptive research study, the multisite team conducted an online survey among a convenience sample of 296 PHNs to determine differences in KSA for each of the eight QCC-PHN Domains. Measurements Analysis of variance (ANOVA) testing revealed differences in KSA for the QCC-PHN, Domains. Post-hoc tests and qualitative thematic analysis of PHNs open-ended comments were used to provide additional data. Results ANOVA results showed significant differences in knowledge and skills in all Domains and a significant difference in attitude in only one domain, Domain 7. Post-hoc test results showed significant differences in KSA between position titles for most Domains. Conclusions Recommendations include using the QCC-PHN to standardize the professional and diverse roles of the PHN workforce.