The children’s community nurse

The policy context and important contributions that children’s community nurses can make to deliver this agenda are described. The evolution, range and scope of the roles and services of children’s community nursing are explored. A summary of key evidence concerning roles, policy and service development, and interventions is presented, along with future role development and research challenges. The roles of children’s community nurses have evolved rapidly over the last decade in response to demand, public pressure and key policy drivers. There is weak evidence concerning the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of various roles, models and services. Satisfaction surveys indicate positive benefits for children and their families, but there is insufficient capacity and coverage of roles and services to fulfil the UK government’s aspirations for all children to have access to an appropriate children’s community nursing service.