Institutionalization of Visiting Nursing Services Provided By Public Health Centers and the Formation of Employment Structures for Visiting Nurses, 1990–2012

Purpose: This study aims to examine the history of visiting nursing services at Korean public health centers from 1990 to 2012 in Korea’s historical and institutional context. Methods: We collected and analyzed materials from metropolitan/provincial archives; government policy documents; guidelines and reports from the Korea Health Industry Development Institute and Korea Health Promotion Institute; newspapers; the Public Health Nursing Newsletter(Bogeon Ganho Sosik); and memoirs of public health center nurses. Results: Visiting nursing was formalized in the 1990s through Seoul pilot projects and took root as a public health service focused on low-income populations. After the 1997–1998 financial crisis of Korea, a public-works–based visiting nursing project expanded and standardized services nationwide but entrenched a short-term, low-wage employment structure. Driven by Health Plan 2010(HP2010), established in 2002, the 2005 Urban Visiting Health Pilot Project, and the 2007 Customized Visiting Health Care Services, the program’s target population and workforce expanded markedly, and nationwide implementation began. In the early 2000s, guidelines and training materials were developed and the Field Management Training Program(FMTP) was introduced, strengthening professional capacity; however, establishing sustainable regular staffing and a stable training system remained limited. Conclusion: Between the 1990s and 2012, visiting nursing at public health centers became institutionalized and expanded into a nationwide, routine program, accompanied by changes in program nomenclature, staffing standards, and delivery modalities. Maintaining visiting nursing as a core universal service of public health centers requires public systems that foster the accumulation of visiting nurses’ professional expertise and reflect the value of care.