The “Accompanying” Practice of Public Health in New Zealand 

Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the central philosophy behind public health nursing in New Zealand, in an attempt to demonstrate public health nurses’ “reality” of practice.  Measuring health outcomes in relation to nursing intervention is difficult in public health nursing.  Community nurse theorists have developed models of nursing practice (Friedman, 1992; Wright & Leahey, 1994; Zerwekh, 1991) in an attempt to demonstrate the immensely valuable contribution that public health nursing makes to the community.  However, these community models are often seen as theoretical conceptual structures, which are a representation of what nursing practice encompasses, not necessarily the actual “reality” of practice (Stanhope & Lancaster, 1992).