Emerging Global Health Issues: A Nurse’s Role

Abstract

Global health issues (GHIs) require global cooperation in response, planning, prevention, preparedness, and care that reflects health equity issues among nations. These issues require complex interprofessional and interagency cooperation and solutions that involve governments, non-profits, and many times include private companies and foundations. More than ever, the response to GHIs requires a broader understanding of how connected we are in today’s world. This article considers response to issues of emerging infectious diseases, human trafficking, maternal-newborn health; preparedness for health inequities within a framework of social justice, equity; and mal-distribution of health workers globally. We define and describe emerging global health issues from a nursing perspective and offer a call to action for nurses to increase awareness as global leaders.

Achieving Universal Health Care in the Pacific: The need for nursing and midwifery leadership

“…36 They have a unique and integrated perspective of community health that allows them to assess individual, community, and population health; advocate for health equity; and collaborate with legislators and other leaders in the health care system to help address priority health issues. 37 However, despite the key roles that policy and politics play in determining health strategies, and nursing and midwifery practice, (with many nurses and midwives carrying out decisions made by others), there is still evidence of nurses and midwives having a weak influence on policy development and participating from a position of relatively low status. 4 , 16 , 26 Nursing and midwifery leaders are often neither heard nor heeded in settings where policy decisions are made, such as in parliaments, governments and boardrooms.…”

A Glance at the Barriers and Enablers of the Nursing Role in Pandemics: An Integrative Review

“…Global Health Issues (GHI) demand interinstitutional and interprofessional work and collaboration for adequate planning, prevention, and care to address health equity issues among nations (1).…”

“…Emerging infectious diseases, such as epidemics, are GHI problems as they cross country boundaries in a matter of hours or days. In this context, the deficit of healthcare resources, as well as healthcare providers and infrastructure, will negatively impact the prevention of emerging GHI in the population (1), which raises a major issue of social justice, an essential concept for the nursing field (2).…”

“…There is no doubt that, throughout history, only a few pandemics have struck the world and -despite the fact that experience along with oral and written traditions are lost in time-, evidence has demonstrated that nursing professionals have been paramount in the recognition and response to emerging disease threats (1), given that they occupy and assume vital positions and roles in care due to their expertise and unique professional roles with patients.…”

Digital Nursing and Health Care Innovation

“…This impact will lead nurses to explore and develop new roles addressing the challenge of a shrinking workforce, as well as the drive to deliver more health and preventive care in non-traditional settings. 2 To discuss and address these existing and anticipated challenges for the nursing workforce, organisations around the world published frameworks and charted paths of the future of nursing. In 2016, the National Health System (NHS) in England published a framework for nursing, midwifery, and care staff, with the title: "Leading Change Adding Value."…”