Changes in the Number of Public Health Nurses Employed in Local Governments in Japan During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The response rate of the questionnaires was 54.0% (81/150). The change in the employment status of PHNs from 2019 to 2020 was not statistically significant in 2020, which was the COVID-19 outbreak year. However, the number of full-time PHNs increased by 2.6, while part-time PHNs almost doubled from 5.2 ± 8.3 to 10.8 ± 9.6 ( = .61) for prefectures, from 13.6 ± 13.1 to 21.5 ± 34.8 ( = .23) for cities, and from 16.8 ± 26.8 to 52.3 ± 132.5 ( = .70) for wards. The survey revealed that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the ratio of part-time to full-time PHNs significantly increased. Current status reports of public health centers will encourage political decisions and research on the factors necessary to balance the supply and demand of full-time PHNs.