Establishing health visitors’ professional identity

Abstract

Although literature has often alluded to health visitors’ professional identity, a comprehensive definition of what this was remained elusive. Health visitors’ professional identity is important and forms a framework underpinning practice. Health visitors need to know, and feel secure in, who they are and what they do in order for them to practise effectively as public health practitioners and make a positive health difference to their clients’ lives. A qualitative extended study was carried out to investigate how service changes affected health visitors’ professional identity. Twenty health visitors were interviewed over 22 months using interpretative phenomenological analysis, combined with an art-based approach. The study model comprised a literature review and the health visitors’ understanding of their identity and professional identity. This article describes how a comprehensive definition of professional identity was established; how, and in what ways, service changes affected the participants’ professional identity, along with recommendations and implications for policy and practice, will be addressed at a later date.