Care management revisited: a follow-up study.

This article describes a follow-up to a study of community nurse care managers, undertaken in 1993-1994, in the light of the community care policy of the time. The original research found care management to be a viable practice model for community nurses to adopt, given the contemporary context; however, its long-term future was debatable. The present study comprised a questionnaire sent to two groups of community nurse care managers and their managers, who had participated in the original research. Responses indicated that a large proportion remained in a care management role some 4-5 years later, with the mental health and learning disability specialties being better represented than district nursing. Once again, survival was found to be dependent on a number of related contextual variables, which are discussed. The study concluded that the philosophy and principles of care management are still relevant to today's community nursing practice, even though the actual title appears to be less in evidence and current policy changes may render it less viable for the future.