Search

One way in which professional nursing organizations have chosen to address the social determinants of health (SDoH) is through policy work focused on diversity, health equity and anti‐racism activities. The recent report, Future of Nursing 2020–2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity (FON 2020–2030), calls on professional nursing organizations and/or nursing coalitions to focus on addressing the SDoH to mitigate health inequities, including a focus on addressing racism and promoting practices to ensure the diversity of the nursing workforce. While these recommendations highlight issues of high importance to nursing and the broader society, they assume that professional nursing organizations or coalitions have not been sufficiently engaged in this work to date. Our goal was to better understand the current and/or ongoing activities of professional nursing organizations around their anti‐racism work of diversity, health equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities recommended in the FON 2020–2030 report. To address this goal, we conducted a needs assessment of professional nursing organizations to document their DEI activities and the timing of these activities relevant to the recommendations in the report. The 26 responding organizations indicated they had been engaged in work addressing DEI issues for periods ranging from 4 months to 51 years. Minimal funding was the major barrier to advancing this work. Creating a vigorous shared DEI agenda across the profession, as suggested in the FON 2020–2030 report, will require input from nurses across the profession, as well as identification of resources to support this critical endeavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health nurses (PHNs) serve as the first line of prevention in public health and safety threats such as the COVID‐19 pandemic. Although PHNs provide vital services to protect communities and populations' health, a pervasive lack of knowledge exists regarding the PHN role among policymakers and the general public. Advocacy for investment in the public health nursing workforce remains a priority as staffing and financial constraints have created sizeable barriers for PHNs during the COVID‐19 response. Creating an advocacy video with personal stories from PHNs emerges as a powerful and cost‐effective strategy to increase the visibility of PHNs. For this project, interviews with PHNs from COVID‐19 hot spots were used to create a 3‐min advocacy video. PHNs featured in this video discussed the implications of rerouting resources to combat COVID‐19 for the populations they serve. The authors disseminated the video through popular social media venues, public health and nursing organizations and nurse influencers to reach nursing students, faculty, and the public. Over an 8‐week period, the video received 2732 views on social media with an average view duration of 2 min. This article includes strategies to maximize the impact of an advocacy video when shared with relevant stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The changing professional environment for community/public health nursing practice necessitates competencies grounded in current evidence‐based practice. The Quad Council Coalition (QCC) appointed a Task Force to revise the 2011 QCC Competencies for Public Health Nursing. The goal of the competencies is to guide professional nursing practice, curricula, research, and policy development. This paper describes the process used to develop the revised 2018 Competencies. Methods: A biphasic Delphi technique was used to conduct a detailed examination and build consensus. Four individuals representing community/public health practice and education collaborated to identify and implement a systematic process for revising the QCC Competencies. The process included multiple iterations of review and feedback using consistent methods and tools to analyze and synthesize themes. Results: The primary result of this project is the 2018 QCC Competencies document that has strong consensus and provides a coherent voice from professionals on the practice of community/public health nursing. Discussion: Use of current QCC Competencies will strengthen the community/public health nursing capacity to positively impact the health and well‐being of populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore public health nurses’ knowledge, perceptions, and practices under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Design and Sample: A cross‐sectional, web‐based survey was completed by a sample of 1,143 public health nurses (PHNs) in the United States. Measures: Descriptive statistics were analyzed for variables related to general knowledge and perception of the ACA and for the extent of involvement in activities related to the implementation of the ACA. Qualitative analysis was conducted on free text comments to two open‐ended questions about current and future PHNs involvement in the ACA. Results: Approximately 45% of PHNs reported changes in their daily work due to the ACA. PHNs reported being very or somewhat involved in these activities of the ACA: integration of primary care and public health (62%), provision of clinical preventive services (60.3%), care coordination (55.4%), patient navigation (55.3%), establishment of private‐public partnerships (55.3%), population health strategies (53.6%), population health data assessment and analysis (53.8%), community health assessments (49%), involvement in medical homes (37.8%), provision of maternal and child health home visiting services (32.1%), and involvement in Accountable Care Organizations (29.2%). Conclusion: PHNs are making substantial contributions to implementation of the ACA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study was designed to determine whether singleton women who had not previously breastfed and who had a women, infant and children ( WIC) peer counselor were more likely to initiate breastfeeding than women not exposed to the WIC peer counselor. Design and Sample The retrospective cross-sectional study used data from the 2009 Texas Department of State Health Services ( DSHS) WIC Infant Feeding Practices Survey ( IFPS) administered through 73 local WIC agencies. Of the 5,427 responses to the 2009 Texas DSHS WIC IFP Survey, 56.6% ( N = 3,070) were included in this study. Measures The Texas DSHS WIC IFPS, a 55-item survey with multiple-choice and two open-ended questions, was used to evaluate breastfeeding beliefs, attitudes, and practices among women receiving WIC services. Results Women who had peer counselor contact during pregnancy, in the hospital, and after delivery were more likely to initiate breastfeeding than women without such contacts, OR = 1.36, 2.06, 1.85, respectively. Conclusion Women's decision to initiate breastfeeding is significantly associated with WIC peer counselor contacts. Continued WIC peer counselor program services may increase breastfeeding initiation rates among WIC participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors call on the need to recognize the critical role that public health nurses (PHN) play during infectious disease emergencies, such as the coronavirus disease-201o(COVID-19) pandemic. Topics covered include the factors behind the erosion of the PHN workforce, the negative consequences of the nearly 25 percent reduction in the public health workforce, and the pandemic serving as a catalyst to financial investment in public health nursing.