What Can Nurses Do?

Many people, most of them in tropical countries of the Third World, die of preventable, curable diseases. . . . Malaria, tuberculosis, acute lower-respiratory infections—in 1998, these claimed 6.1 million lives. People died because the drugs to treat those illnesses are nonexistent or are no longer effective. They died because it doesn’t pay to keep them alive.

–Ken Silverstein, Millions for Viagra. Pennies for Diseases of the Poor, The Nation, July 19, 1999

Unfortunately, since 1998, little has changed. For many individuals living in impoverished underdeveloped countries, even basic medical care is difficult to obtain. Although international agencies sponsor outreach programs and corporations, and although nonprofit organizations donate goods and services, the level of health care remains far below what is necessary to meet the needs of struggling populations. Polluted water supplies, unsanitary conditions, and poor nutrition only exacerbate the poor health prevalent in these environments. Nurses working in developed nations have many opportunities/advantages that typically are not available to those in underdeveloped countries. What can nurses do to support their international colleagues and advocate for the poor and underserved of the world?

In this Discussion, you will consider the challenges of providing health care for the world’s neediest citizens, as well as how nurses can advocate for these citizens.

To prepare:

• Consider the challenges of providing health care in underdeveloped countries.
• Conduct research in the Walden Library and other reliable resources to determine strategies being used to address these challenges.
• Using this week’s Learning Resources, note the factors that impact the ability of individuals in underdeveloped nations to obtain adequate health care.
• Consider strategies nurses can use to advocate for health care at the global level. What can one nurse do to make a difference?

Post by Day 3 a description of at least two challenges related to providing adequate health care in underdeveloped countries. Then, describe two strategies you might use to address those challenges, and explain why. Finally, describe one strategy nurses might use in advocating for health care at the global level, and explain why this would be an effective strategy.

Readings

• Knickman, J. R., & Kovner, A. R. (Eds.). (2015). Health care delivery in the united states (11th ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing.
  • Chapter 4, “Comparative Health Systems” (pp. 53-72)

    The chapter showcases different models of health care systems in order to help policymakers and managers critically assess and improve health care in the United States.

  • Chapter 10, “The Health Workforce” (pp. 213-225)

    Review this section of Chapter 10, which details health workforce issues for nurses and nurse practitioners.

• Milstead, J. A. (2013). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
  • Chapter 11, “Global Connections” (207–217)

    This chapter addresses how the health status of individuals and populations around the world can affect policymaking in a country.

• Bloch, G., Rozmovits, L., & Giambrone, B. (2011). Barriers to primary care responsiveness to poverty as a risk factor for health. BMC Family Practice, 12(1), 62–67.

  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

  This article details a qualitative study that was conducted to explore the barriers to primary care responsiveness to poverty. The authors explicate a variety of health impacts attributable to poverty.

• Harrowing, J. N. (2009). The impact of HIV education on the lives of Ugandan nurses and nurse-midwives. Advances in Nursing Science, 32(2), E94–E108.

  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

  This article explores the impact of an HIV/AIDS education program for Ugandan nurses and nurse-midwives. The author details the motivations behind the program and recommendations for the future.

• Koplan, J. P., Bond, C., Merson, M. H., Reddy, K. S., Rodriquez, M. H., Sewankambo, N. K., & Wasserheit, J. N. (2009). Towards a common definition of global health. The Lancet, 373, 1993–1995. Retrieved from http://www.cfhi.org/web/fckeditor/uploaded/File/publications/intro%20page%20links/Toward%20a%20Definition%20of%20GH%20June%202009PracticalGlobal%20PublicHealth.pdf

  This article provides a full description of the components that comprise global health care in detail.

• Gapminder. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.gapminder.org

  This website explains statistical graphs and tables of life expectancy and incomes around the world.

• Global Health Council. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.globalhealth.org

  This website houses the productivity and efforts of the Global Health Council as the world’s largest alliance dedicated to improving health throughout the world.

• Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation: U.S. Global Health Policy. (2010). Retrieved from http://kff.org/globaldata/

  This website focuses on major health care issues facing the United States, as well as the U.S. role in global health policy.

• International Council of Nurses. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.icn.ch/

  This website documents the efforts of the International Council of Nurses to ensure quality nursing care for all, as well as sound health policies globally through the advancement of nursing knowledge and presence worldwide.

• United Nations Statistics Division. (2011). Retrieved from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/default.htm

  This website examines global statistical information compiled by the United Nations Statistics Division.

• University of Pittsburgh Center for Global Health. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.globalhealth.pitt.edu/

  This website analyzes health issues that affect populations around the globe through research at the University of Pittsburgh.

• The World Bank (n.d.) The costs of attaining the millennium development goals. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/mdgassessment.pdf

  This article states that many countries will have to reform their policies and improve service delivery to make additional spending effective because the additional aid for education and health with not be enough.