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Protecting the rights of research participants when conducting studies within an international context presents many challenges. The purpose of this article was to compare and contrast the process of obtaining informed consent in two very different countries - Swaziland and Pakistan. Major aspects of the informed-consent process presented included identification of gatekeepers, seeking permission from officials, negotiating with these officials and Institutional Review Board (IRB) committees in regard to the type of data to be collected, and explaining informed consent to participants in the field. Data for this article is based upon qualitative research of collaboration between nurses and healers in Swaziland and from a variety of studies completed in Pakistan. These studies demonstrate the inadequacy and complexity of applying western-based concepts of informed consent to developing countries.

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Holistic nursing is founded on the values of integrality and the awareness of whole-people and whole-system interconnectedness. These concepts are foundational to the broader global health agendas and initiatives of our time, which seek to improve human, animal, and planetary health. The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development represents the most remarkable transnational initiative in history: a 15-year plan (2015-2030) rallying the efforts of all countries, governments, and concerned citizens worldwide to foster human–planet thriving and survival. The purpose herein is to substantiate the United Nations 2030 Agenda as a holistic nursing priority and theory-practice opportunity for current and future professional maturation. This article provides a background of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a discussion regarding their relevance to holistic nursing, and an explanation of the essential nature of partnerships in attaining each of these “Global Goals.” We link the discussion of the SDGs directly to the American Holistic Nurses Association’s Core Values and identify implications for practice, education, research, and policy. Holistic nursing is ideally situated throughout the health care system and in the broader global context to advocate and advance the SDGs.