Community assessment, intervention and empowerment model: a construtivis based study

Purpose: Develop a Community Empowerment Model that supports the decision-making for a Community Nursing centered on the community as client of Nurses. Theory: Community Health Nursing as an advanced field of Nursing requires a community approach as the customer of Nurses, to take health gains grounded in community empowerment as a process and as a result. We used as reference Laverack’s Community Empowerment Model, with a continuum of dimensions that allow a structured way to empower communities and the decision-making structure on nursing propose by Figueiredo. Methods: Study carried out under a constructivist paradigm, through a triangulation of methods that included focus groups (with Community and Public Health Nurses Specialists) and a Delphi Study (With the Portuguese Population of Community and Public Health Nursing Specialists).Findings: It was possible to identify a guiding matrix of advanced clinical decision-making in Community Nursing, allowing to integrate Nursing Focus, Diagnosis and Diagnostic Criteria, Interventions and promote health gains sensitive to community nursing care, that allow Community Empowerment as a process and outcome. Discussion: We conclude that the Community Nursing, as an advanced area of clinical decision has a specific field of clinical decision promoting the health of communities, based on community empowerment.