From Grassroots Meeting Place to Global Nursing Network: A History of the International Home Care Nurses Organization.

Abstract

The International Home Care Nurses Organization (IHCNO) emerged in response to a recognized need for a dedicated international professional organization focused on nursing care in the home and community. This historical narrative review examines the organization's development from its early origins in 2008 through 2026. It analyzes how a volunteer-led specialty network contributed to the global advancement of home healthcare nursing. Archival records, peer-reviewed publications, conference materials, organizational documents, and oral-history feedback from founding and current leaders were reviewed and synthesized. Findings highlight IHCNO's progression from a journal-anchored grassroots initiative into an incorporated international professional association with five global conferences, international guidelines and standards, a research grant program, and strategic partnerships supporting education, research, and professional recognition. The organization's history illustrates how distributed volunteer leadership, strategic publication partnerships, and deliberate infrastructure development can strengthen specialty identity and foster international collaboration. As care increasingly shifts into homes and communities worldwide, IHCNO offers an example of how nursing organizations can support practice, research, and policy in evolving models of home-based care.