Patient/nurse dependency measures developed in the setting of acute hospital care were shown to be not wholly appropriate to community nursing. In a literature search undertaken to locate a tool suitable for measuring nurse/patient dependency in the community, a number of studies were found with material relevant to the subject. It appeared that age and mobility were determining factors in the allocation of district nursing time, but the complexity of other variables, including home conditions and the presence or absence of other carers, defied precise measurement. A functional assessment scale was found which had been developed for assessing and monitoring patients in the community and this might be utilised as a dependency measure if timings could be attached. A small pilot study undertaken in 1984/5 to investigate this possibility was followed by a larger study completed in 1987.