RESUMO
PURPOSE: It is extremely difficult to apply the model learned in basic education for public health nurses (PHNs) to conduct community health assessments. The purpose of this study was to clarify the process by which community health needs can be structured through PHNs' daily practice.METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted in 29 PHNs, and continuous comparative analysis using a qualitative study was performed with a modified grounded theory approach.RESULTS: The participants “used their five senses to understand the relationship between the health and life of people” and “considered those who do not attend” by “learning from stakeholders.” To verify such subjective feelings sourced from vague phenomena within the communities, subjective phenomena were converted into qualitative data.CONCLUSION: The application of the findings to organizational continuous education systems may not only help appropriately improve community health assessment methods but can also help improve the evaluation of daily practice and contribute to professional human-resource development.