Evidence into action: a policy brief exemplar supporting attainment of nursing now

Evaluation of an international health partnership to capacity build emergency, trauma and critical care nurse education and practice in Zambia: An experience from the field

AIM

To evaluate an international health partnership project to capacity build emergency, trauma and critical care nurse education and practice in Zambia.

BACKGROUND

Zambia continues to face a significant workforce challenge and rising burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to these, the Zambian Ministry of Health is investing in specialised nurses. Emergency, trauma and critical care nursing education and training were seen as one of the solutions. North-south partnerships have been identified as a force for good to capacity build and develop emerging specialities.

SOURCES OF EVIDENCE

We use an evaluative approach, which includes desk research, a rapid literature review and documentary data analysis from published papers, government reports and project documentation. Ethics committee approval was sought and gained in both Zambia and the UK.

DISCUSSION

A critical review of the evidence identified three key themes: challenges with changing education and practice, developing Zambian faculty for sustainability and the effect of an international health partnership project on both Zambia and UK. The outcomes from this project are multifaceted; however, the main achievement has been the implementation of emergency, trauma and critical care graduate programmes by the Zambian faculty.

CONCLUSION

This experience from the field outlines the benefits and limitations of a north-south partnership and the importance of transparency, shared ownership and collegiate decisions. It has facilitated knowledge exchange and sharing to capacity build emergency, trauma and critical care nursing.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

Lessons learned may be applicable to other international nursing partnerships, these include the need for deep understanding of the context and constraints. Also, the importance of focusing on developing long-term sustainable strategies, based on research, education and practice was noted.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY

This paper outlines the importance of developing nursing education and practice to address the changing burden of disease in line with Zambian national policy, regional and international standards. Also, the value of international nursing partnerships for national and international nursing agendas was described.

The future of cancer nursing in Europe: Addressing professional issues in education, research, policy and practice

Cancer nursing has evolved to meet the demands of rising cancer incidence, newer and more complex treatment options, and the emergence of specialist roles supporting patients from pre-diagnosis, through treatment, survivorship and end of life care. Nurses are involved in direct and in-direct care of people at risk of, and living with and after cancer in diverse contexts. As a result, nurses are positioned to have a significant influence on the processes and outcomes of cancer care, through education, research, policy, practice and leadership. However, nursing and cancer care face challenges, arising from workforce shortages, under-investment in services and under-representation in decision-making. This paper discusses the evolution of cancer nursing across education, policy, research, profession and practice, and sets an agenda for innovation and disruption across these domains to ensure sustainability of cancer care services and care for people living with and after cancer. We argue for the continued advancement of cancer nursing with critical focus on identifying and addressing inequities in role recognition and access to specialist cancer nursing education throughout Europe. Partnership, exchange of learning, and co-design will be central to progressing education, evidence and policy to support future growth in the cancer nursing workforce and embed cancer nurses in research and policy setting at local, national and international levels.

Nursing and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Scoping Review

PURPOSE

In 2015, all member states that comprise the United Nations unanimously adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of ambitious and inclusive targets toward global economic, social, and environmental betterment. Nurses have a key role to play in the achievement of the SDGs. The aim of this article was to conduct a scoping review to synthesize the literature related to nursing and the SDGs.

METHODS

This scoping review utilized Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage framework. Several electronic databases were searched for literature published from 2015 to 2020 using the key words "nurse OR nurses OR nursing" and "Sustainable Development Goals OR SDGs".

FINDINGS

A total of 447 articles were identified through the databases searches, of which 35 articles were deemed relevant and included for final review and content analysis. Analysis of relevant literature on nursing and the SDGs revealed two distinct, yet connected, perspectives: the nurse and the profession.

CONCLUSIONS

Individual nurses may feel disconnected from the SDGs and struggle to relate the goals to their clinical role, calling for an increase in awareness and education on the goals. The wider profession could also increase both research and policy with relation to the SDGs, strengthening nursing's position to have a voice in and contribute towards achievement of the goals.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Individual nurses and the wider nursing profession have opportunities to more meaningfully contribute to the SDGs, beginning with an increased awareness through education and a commitment to research and participation in local and global decision making.