Nurses Make the Health Care World Go 'Round

According to Boston-based Partners in Health (PIH), a global health organization, nurses deliver 90 percent of all healthcare services worldwide, especially in impoverished countries where resource shortages outstrip physician capabilities.

Examples of this abound. In Rwanda and Haiti nurses deliver chemotherapy and oncology education. In Lesotho, they deliver ultrasound imaging to pregnant moms, according to PIH statistics.

Fred Hagigi, director of global health initiatives, UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, says

“The global role of nurses ensures that patients are at the center of care. They’re collaborators with a (hands-on) understanding of patients.

“When we talk about building (healthcare delivery) capacity, we’re talking about nurse capacity. The shortest way to do this is through nurses in every country,” he adds.

Indeed, PIH information reports nurses make up almost 86 percent of clinical staff. As key providers of primary healthcare, they comprise between 60 and 80 percent of the health system workforce.

Afaf I. Meleis—distinguished alumna and former dean, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, calls nurses “vital partners” in the global movement towards integrated, population-based care. “As frontline providers of care, they are uniquely positioned to be the driving force in mobilizing and promoting teamwork and collaboration to provide effective and equitable healthcare for all populations around the world,” she explains.

A January 2012 online article from the American Nurses Association (ANA), Silver Spring, Md., concurs, stating that nurses influence change at the local, national, regional and international level to enhance the health of populations. This is true whether the country is industrialized or a developing nation.”

Nurses globally must play a role in actively shaping health policy. “All too often nursing’s role has been to implement policies and programs rather than participate and bring nursing perspective, experience, knowledge and skills to policy formulation and healthcare planning,” it notes.

Adey Nyamathi says “awareness of different cultures” optimizes bedside care at the local level. She calls the introduction of global health into nursing curricula “an important contribution” to clinical coursework, one that resonated with UCLA students.

“When we present content, it’s such an eye-opener to students. More than half the class has family from different countries,” she says.

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