Special Issue "Nursing and Public Health"

Guest Editor
Dr. Christine L. Savage, RN, Ph.D, CARN
Director, Public Health Nursing component of the Masters Program; Associate Professor, College of Nursing; Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center; PO Box 210038, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0038, USA
E-Mail: christine.savage@uc.edu
Phone: +1 513 558 5241
Fax: +1 513 558 2142

Dear Colleagues,

The purpose of this special issue is to highlight the role of nursing in the promotion and protection of the public’s health. The global public health infrastructure faces multiple challenges due to increased interdependence between countries both economically, social and in relation to health. Nurses have a huge potential to meet these challenges not only because they comprise the largest sector of the health professions, but also due to their rich history in public health. This special issue will present a blend of articles that include research articles that demonstrate the effectiveness of public health nursing interventions, articles with a focus on public health nursing and global health, health policy articles related to the role of nursing in public health and at least one historical article on past contributions of public health nursing. Example of specific topics include the historical contribution of nursing to the reduction in infectious disease mortality (e.g. the work of Lillian Wald), the development of board certified advanced public health nursing practice, as well as specific examples of the impact public health nursing interventions have on improvement of population health.

Christine L. Savage, Ph.D, RN, CARN
Guest Editor

Submission

The Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601) was launched in 2004 and is an Open Access journal, with the main Editorial Office located in Basel, Switzerland. It has been accepted for coverage in Science Citation Index Expanded, available as the Web of Science and in Current Contents/Agriculture, Biology, and Environmental Sciences. Coverage will begin with the 2009 issues. This journal is also abstracted and indexed very rapidly by Chemical Abstracts, MedLine/PubMed and EMBASE. The IJERPH maintains a rapid editorial procedure and a rigorous peer-review system. Well written papers have been peer-reviewed and published in less than 4 weeks from manuscript submission. All papers published in IJERPH have DOI numbers.

All papers should be submitted to ijerph@mdpi.com with copy to the guest editor. To be published continuously until the deadline and papers will be listed together at this special issue website.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a paper. Open Access publication fees are 300 CHF per paper. English correction fees (250 CHF) will be added in certain cases (550 CHF per paper for those papers that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.).

• Nursing
• Population health
• Community Health
• Health determinants
• Public health nursing
• Nursing history
• Global health

Title: To be added
Authors: Eileen McKinlay
E-mail: eileen.mckinlay@otago.ac.nz
Abstract: Internationally the care of people with mild to moderate mental health conditions is receiving more attention as prevalence is increasing and early intervention recognised as vital. In New Zealand, the government has funded a variety of projects based in primary care settings to pilot new service delivery methods. An independent evaluation finds that in these pilots, nurses are supporting interdisciplinary care in existing and newly created roles. This paper will report and discuss nurses' roles within an interdisciplinary approach to mental health within primary care.

Title: Specialist Community Nurses: A Critical Analysis of their Role in the Management of Long-Term Conditions
Authors: Gretl McHugh ¹, Maria Horne ², Karen Chalmers ³, Karen Luker ⁴
Affiliations: ¹ Senior Research Fellow, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Work, University of Manchester
² Lecturer in Health Visiting, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Work, University of Manchester
³ Professor of Community Health Research, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Work, University of Manchester
⁴ QNI Professor of Community Nursing, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Work, University of Manchester
Abstract: The aim of this narrative review is to identify strategies in use by specialist community and public health nurses in the prevention, care and management of individuals with long-term conditions, specifically respiratory and musculoskeletal disorders. These conditions have been selected as they are highly prevalent; a burden on health services globally and a major public health issue. From a UK policy perspective, specialist community nurses have been placed at the forefront of taking a lead role in the coordination and delivery of more effective services for individuals with long-term conditions, whether this has been an effective use of skills and resource is questionable. We will systematically search relevant databases between 1999-2009 to identify interventions used by these specialist community nurses and critically appraise these studies. This review will report on impact and value in the prevention and management of musculoskeletal and respiratory conditions by specialist community nurses and make recommendations for meeting the public health agenda

Title: Nursing and Public Health: The Invisible Nurse
Author: Barbara Parfitt
Affiliation: Global Health Development, Buchanan House, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 OBA, UK; Tel: +44(0) 141 331 3460; Fax: +44(0) 141 331 8109; E-Mail: B.A.Parfitt@gcal.ac.uk
Abstract: The role of nurses in public health is held by the nursing profession to be critical for the well being and health of the population world wide. However research shows that most nurses who work in community settings and have a public health role feel themselves to be invisible. This invisibility has an impact on policies for the development of primary health services and the role of the nurse in public health. Recent evaluations in Scotland and in Tajikistan have shown that a move towards a more generic role for the nurse gives rise to the fear by nurses that the public health focus of their role is under threat. There is some evidence from the evaluation in Tajikistan that the demands of personal care and technological support for the doctor limit the effective public health role that the nurse can undertake. This paper will explore these issues using evidence from two evaluations respectively in Scotland and Tajikistan.

Type of Paper: Commentary
Title: Public health and Nursing: A Natural Partnership
Authors: Christine Savage¹ and Joan Kub²
Affiliations: ¹ University of Cincinnati College of Nursing, 3110 Vine St. Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
² Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Abstract: The health of individuals occurs within the context of their environment and the other individuals they interact with in the community they live in, work in and visit. Promoting the health of the public requires multiple strategies aimed at improving the environment, the health knowledge of groups and individuals, maintain an adequate food sources and reducing the spread of disease. Many disciplines are needed to carry to meet these goals, but the largest segment of the professional health work force required to meet these needs is nursing. Historically, nursing leaders in public health such as Florence Nightingale and Lillian Wald made significant inroads related to serious health issues because they were nurses. Today across the globe nurses provide the key components of public health interventions including well baby care, health education, screening and immunization clinics, disaster management and emergency preparedness. With the growing nursing shortage in acute care settings, and the shrinking public dollars for preventive health care, the nursing workforce needed to continue to provide these essential health care services is threatened. It is essential to put the spot light on nursing’s role in public health with the hopes of attracting more public funds and more nurses to these essential nursing services.
Keywords: public health; nursing; health care workforce