The mission of the Association is to foster the individual and collective development of nurses involved in the promotion of health care to families by providing a unique international forum of shared responsibility for the advance of family nursing. The Association offers opportunities for leadership, socialization, and collegial exchange related to all aspects of family nursing.

Specifically the Association aims to:

• Promote the care of families in health and illness.
• Facilitate networking among family nurse researchers, educators and practitioners.
• Provide mechanisms for dissemination of information regarding family nursing research, education and practice.
• Advance family nursing research and foster the utilization of nursing research findings.
• Encourage socialization and preparation of students for the roles of family nurse researcher, family nurse advanced practice and family nurse educator.
• Promote the allocation of resources available for family nursing development.
• Comprise a professional source of evidence, information and advocacy in health policy, and health legislation to improve the care of families.