Journal of Nursing, Social Studies, Public Health and Rehabilitation X:X | DOI: 10.32725/jnss.2026.001

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY NURSING (1880-1980)

Vladimíra Pospíšilová ^*, Valérie Tóthová ORCID...

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

Background: Community and public nursing emerged at the intersection of medicine, social care, and state policies between 1880 and 1980. The development from philanthropic and volunteer initiatives to an institutionally anchored profession was not uniform and always reflected local social, political, and cultural conditions.

Objective: The review aimed to reconstruct the historical development of community nursing in an international context. Particular attention was paid to the factors that shaped the professional identity of nurses and their position between medical authority, government, and community needs.

Methods: This paper was conceived as a narrative review supplemented with elements of a scoping review. Literature was searched in the databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost, as well as in Czech professional journals and publications. After selection based on relevance and completeness, nine studies were included in the synthesis.

Results: The analysis of research findings revealed the fundamental features of community nursing development, particularly the emphasis on prevention, close links with social care, and the gradual involvement of the state in service organisation.

Conclusion: The results document why some problems in home care recur and why it makes sense to return to historical experiences. Although the narrative approach and limited range of sources reduce the breadth of the analysis, they provide important insights into the historical development of community nursing.

Keywords: Community nursing; Czechoslovakia; History of nursing; Narrative overview; Public health

Grants and funding:

> This contribution was created as part of the grant project GAJU 071/2024/S, funded by the Grant Agency of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice.

Conflicts of interest:

Ethical aspects and conflict of interest The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Received: September 29, 2025; Revised: November 10, 2025; Accepted: January 23, 2026; Prepublished online: January 23, 2026