Considering Place in Community Health Nursing

Abstract

When a geographic location is assigned meaning, it becomes a place. The authors argue that place matters as both geographical location and lived experience. They extend the current conceptualization of nursing geography to encompass community health nursing and address intricacies of community nursing practice and research that often go unnoticed. They do so by exploring the notion of place in home and community, including the structural/spatial dimensions of the nurse-client relationship. The authors review the health geography literatures, then discuss the implications for practice and research in community health. They invite community health nurses to critically examine their practice and research with reference to such issues as the power of the nurse, marginalized places as determinants of health, and how best to care for clients living in diverse community settings.