<p>IN 1995 Making it Happen (SNMAC) made a series of recommendations for nurses, midwives and health visitors concerning the development of new roles and the consolidation of existing practices in relation to public health. Since that time, the health policy context has changed dramatically and a subsequent review carried out in the Northern and Yorkshire region in 1997 (Davison 1998) showed that there continued to be no common definition of public health nursing. There were, however, a wide variety of activities being undertaken that demonstrated the value of nurses in a public health role.</p>