tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65255496231641007742024-03-13T21:45:50.519-07:00Global Health Issues and NursingAuthor:
Shannon BrantleyShannon Brantleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362598158429228620noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525549623164100774.post-36388916289312239292008-03-02T19:39:00.000-08:002008-04-21T19:30:57.301-07:00Global Health Issues and Nursing<div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><a href="http://www.uthscsa.edu/mission/ArticleData/2007-03/images/nursing_hands.jpg"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:78%;color:#000000;"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 434px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" height="320" alt="" src="http://www.uthscsa.edu/mission/ArticleData/2007-03/images/nursing_hands.jpg" border="0" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:85%;"><strong><div align="center"><br /></div></strong></span><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:85%;"><strong></strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:85%;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:85%;"><strong>The successes & failures of healthcare are felt worldwide.</strong></span></div><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span></span></p><div align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The issues and challenges of healthcare exist both domestically and worldwide. Globally, nurses are the largest group of healthcare providers (Dickenson-Hazard, 2004). As the healthcare system continues to change, nursing as a profession will redefine its role as not only caregivers but as global leaders (Korniewicz & Palmer, 1997). The newly defined role that nurses will take on will be influenced by medical and ethical issues caused by problems which affect everyone, regardless of national identity such as, natural disasters, war, genocide, pollution, and HIV/AIDS among other issues.</span></span></span></div><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#000000;">In 2004-2005, the</span> </span></span><a href="http://www.who.int/"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#3333ff;">World Health Organization </span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#000000;">(WHO) identified eleven of </span><a href="http://www.globalhealth.org/"><span style="color:#3366ff;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">the top global health priorities</span> </span></span></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#000000;">which included malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, tobacco use, maternal health, the environment, and healthcare systems (Dickenson-Hazard, 2004; Brundtland, 2001). In addition, 33% of deaths worldwide are caused by malnourishment, adverse consequences of unsafe sex, high blood pressure and cholesterol, tobacco and alcohol use, sanitation and hygiene, unsafe water, iron deficiency, and obesity (WHO, 2003; Dickenson-Hazard, 2004). Nancy Dickenson-Hazard (2004) noted in <em>Global Health Issues and Challenges</em>, that the health issues and risk factors previously noted, are further complicated by “cultural, language, religious, economic, social, and political factors” (p 6). Even though, these factors are the main reasons why some societies are isolated, common health goals and solutions transcend these differences (Dickson-Hazard, 2004). In <em>Perspectives in Global Health Care</em>, Huttlinger and Schaller-Ayers (2007) concluded that collective efforts made by individual governments and international organizations to make improvements to the economies of all countries is met with difficulty and failure. One reason is because many c</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#000000;">ountries do not find importance in the link between government accountability and accessible healthcare. This nonchalant feeling in respect to a government's responsibility to provide healthcare unsurprisingly results in failure of equal access to basic healthcare. It also leads to inappropriate use and allocation of resources for high- cost technology.</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#000000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIqnRGuY1s7fS9DglsWXYsBgyxerkzxqEjcQZDeSA9AjgvuH3wA3bKA_ZMKjuxTqxqmMpXHEVtOQ0wlbHpu6pMvtVrIcPcZurJSaIEGB-8ZJrQsT06SWcfWT0Y-su9ZFRjTc15zA784QA/s1600-h/mdgs_01.gif"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#000000;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173362025927526514" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 428px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 356px" height="323" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIqnRGuY1s7fS9DglsWXYsBgyxerkzxqEjcQZDeSA9AjgvuH3wA3bKA_ZMKjuxTqxqmMpXHEVtOQ0wlbHpu6pMvtVrIcPcZurJSaIEGB-8ZJrQsT06SWcfWT0Y-su9ZFRjTc15zA784QA/s400/mdgs_01.gif" width="222" border="0" /></span></a></span></div><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';font-size:18;"><br /></span></div><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';font-size:18;"><br /></span></div><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#000000;">The previous facts, beg the question: “What can be done?” In 2005, the United Nations created the </span><a href="http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#3333ff;">Millennium Development Goals</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#000000;"> (MDG’s). These include eight goals agreed to be reached by the year 2015 by all countries and all leading development organizations. The MDG’s range from reducing poverty, to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS, to providing global primary education. Since the MDG’s have been agreed upon by all countries and major international health organizations, the roles that nurses play not only in international organizations, such as </span></span></span><a href="http://www.icn.ch/"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#3333ff;">The International Council of Nurses </span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;">(ICN) but also domestically (for example, RN’s in hospitals), are important, because nurses and healthcare providers everywhere need to start working towards achieving the MDG’s.</span> </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><br /></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong>ICN Logo</strong></span><br /></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;"></span></div><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.aanp.org/NR/rdonlyres/e3fk5biu543bztdlpzaltm5gncshy5qqajhovn3q23x7nzrmematin3dotymls4fwheihe5omdizlcgxpmc7oys3dch/ipnfnl2.jpg" border="0" /><br /></span><div align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#000000;">The goal of international nursing organizations is to promote global health and to advance the nursing profession through education and the unification of nurses globally. There are three main categories of international nursing organizations: professional, governmental, and non-profit or faith based. Professional nursing organizations like ICN or</span> </span></span><a href="http://www.nursingsociety.org/default.aspx"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Sigma Theta Tau</span> </span></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#000000;">work towards impr</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#000000;">oving the status of nurses throughout the world. Governmental organizations like the </span><a href="http://www.peacecorps.gov/"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#3333ff;">Peace Corps</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> <span style="color:#000000;">aim to “promote world peace and friendship” by working towards helping interested countries <a href="http://militaryscience.truman.edu/images/nurse.jpg"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#000000;"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://militaryscience.truman.edu/images/nurse.jpg" border="0" /></span></a>to achieve equality of all men and women and to promote mutual cultural and ethnic understanding and acceptance (Burkhardt & Nathanial, 2008). Nurses in non- profit organizations volunteer to provide healthcare services to individuals. Nurses in religious organizations provide the same services as in non- profit organizations, but also often evangelize in the countries in which they volunteer.</span></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"></span> </div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:85%;"><strong>A military nurse at work. </strong></span></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:85%;"><br /><br /><br /></span></strong></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#000000;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:78%;"><strong></strong></span></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#000000;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;color:#000000;">Starting today, it is important for nurses in every country and every organization to realize the power and influence the nursing profession holds. As the year 2015 draws near, healthcare providers of all professions must make strides towards meeting the goals of the MDG in order to ensure a healthier world for future generations. </span></div><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:78%;">*Photo Caption: A military nurse at work</span><br /></span></span><div align="left"></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>References</strong></span>:</span></span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">Burkhardt, MA., & Nathaniel, AK. (2008). Ethics and Issues in ContemporaryNursing (3rd ed). Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.</span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">Brundtland, GH (2001). Priorities for the Biennium 2004-2005. WHO Executive Board Report,109th Session: Provisional agenda item 4.2, December 7, 2001. Retrieved November 27, 2007, from </span><a href="http://www.who_int/gb/EB_WHA/PDF/EB109/eeb10919/pdf"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#3333ff;">http://www.who_int/gb/EB_WHA/PDF/EB109/eeb10919/pdf</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">. </span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">Dickenson-Hazard, N. (2004). Global Health Issues and Challenges. Journal of NursingScholarship, 36(1), 6-10.</span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">Huttlinger, K., & Schaller-Ayers, J. (2007). Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered HealthCare in the Community. In Mosby Elsevier (Eds.), Perspectives in Global Health Care 7th ed.(pp. 68- 90). Canada: Mosby Elsevier. </span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">Korniewicz, DM. (1997). The Preferable Future for Nursing. Nursing Outlook, 45(3), 108-13.</span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color:#000000;">World Health Organization. (2003). World Health Report, 2002. Retrieved November 27, 2007 from</span> </span><a href="http://www.who.int/whr/2002/overview/en"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#3333ff;">http://www.who.int/whr/2002/overview/en</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">.</span></p>Shannon Brantleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01362598158429228620noreply@blogger.com