Public health Archives - Page 59 of 75

IOM Report: The Evidence Shows the Future of Health Care Rests on the Backs of Nurses

By Shawn Kennedy, AJN interim editor-in-chief

This past Tuesday, I attended the release of the highly anticipated (at least by nursing) report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on the future of nursing. Spearheaded and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the report provides a review of nursing’s role in health care and details what changes need to occur for the future—not just of nursing, but for the future health of the health care system.

While the findings support what nursing has been claiming all along—that nurses have a critical role in health care and the health care system needs nurses to practice to the full extent of their capability—what is especially important about this report is that it is backed by the IOM’s multidisciplinary panel and an “objective evaluation of evidence according to the robust evaluation processes of the National Academy of Sciences,” said John Rowe, a committee member and professor at Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

The panel at the public briefing for the release of the report included some health care heavyweights who voiced strong support for the findings:

Harvey V. Fineburg, president of the IOM: “One thing shouts out—nurses are critical to the nation’s health and central to the goals of high quality care.”

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the […]

Jacob Molyneux, senior editor/blog editor2016-11-21T13:15:20-05:00October 8th, 2010|career, health care policy, nursing perspective, nursing research|4 Comments

Nightingale, One More Time

By Shawn Kennedy, AJN interim editor-in-chief

I know we’ve written a lot about Florence Nightingale on this blog recently (see Susan Hassmiller’s series of posts, In Florence’s Footsteps: Notes from a Journey) and I don’t want to put off those who aren’t necessarily fans, but I came across an editorial written by Gloria Donnelly, editor-in-chief of Holistic Nursing Practice, that resonated with me. She writes about how the holistic nature of Nightingale’s approach fits with much that’s going on today in health care reform, citing as one example the trend toward teaching people to take charge of their own health. (The entire Fall issue highlights the work of holistic practitioners—I especially liked Garden Walking for Depression: A Research Report.)

Donnelly writes:

We believe that Ms. Nightingale, an advocate of health, self-healing, and healthy environments, would be proud of the strides that nurses have made to promote holistic health and care around the world. . . . Nightingale believed that ’health nursing‘ and cultivating good health were equally important to ’sick nursing,’ the art and principles of which she developed almost single-handedly. Prevention superceded cure in Nightingale’s schema as she advocated for Health Missioners to work, first in the villages of rural India and then in England, teaching women how to prevent disease and maintain healthy environments.

This, in a nutshell, describes nursing at its core. It’s a shame that of all of Nightingale’s philosophies and improvements that were […]

Guest Author2016-11-21T13:15:54-05:00September 2nd, 2010|health care policy, nursing perspective|1 Comment

Still Confused About Health Care Reform? Welcome to the Club

By Peggy McDaniel, BSN, RN. Peggy is an infusion practice manager who occasionally writes for this blog.

I admit that I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with the ongoing discussions around health care reform. It sounds like I’m not the only one. FierceHealthcare.com recently reported that the results of a Harris Poll suggest many Americans remain befuddled about the implications of the Affordable Care Act passed in March:

“Here are some areas [w]here a general cluelessness among those polled prevailed:

82 percent think the bill will result in rationing of healthcare or that it might (it won’t);

79 percent don’t know or aren’t sure if drug companies will pay an annual fee (they will);

73 percent don’t know the law establishes a new tax on the sale of medical devices;

66 percent don’t know or aren’t sure if the legislation will result in insurance exchanges where people can shop for insurance (it will); and

63 percent either aren’t sure or don’t know if the new law will increase the number of people elibible for Medicaid (it will).

The chairman of the Harris Poll is quoted in the article: “It seems people are still reacting to the rhetoric, not the substance of what is in the bill . . .”

Considering the results of this poll, what do you think it would take to get the public up to speed on the facts? Do Americans not care, or is it too overwhelming? As a nurse, I feel I should be more informed about the law. And I’m going to spend […]

Jacob Molyneux, senior editor/blog editor2016-11-21T13:16:17-05:00August 5th, 2010|health care policy|1 Comment

Ms. Nightingale as an Applied Statistician

By Sue Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN (latest in a series of posts by Hassmiller, who’s spending her summer vacation retracing crucial steps in Florence Nightingale’s innovative career)

Here at the home of Florence Nightingale, Embley Park (for more on Embley Park, see last week’s blog post), approximately 100 people have convened to study the impact of the “Lady with the Lamp.” The lady herself was multifaceted, and so is this crowd of scholars. There are nurse leaders, of course, but also museum curators, historians, educators, and biographers. They are all interested in their own piece, but also in how their piece fits into the bigger whole of her life. Today we heard Professor Thomas from the University of Southampton School of Business discuss her contributions as an applied statistician.

Representing mortality. Early in her life, Ms. Nightingale identified the need for hospitals and healthcare systems to collect and use data to improve care. She asked what use are statistics “if we don’t know what to make of them?” She is credited with developing the famous “coxcomb” illustration, which was a multidimensional way of depicting mortality rates. She used statistics at Scutari Hospital (also called Selimiye Barracks) in Turkey to guide her actions and used statistics and data in the London Times to convey […]

Guest Author2016-11-21T13:16:32-05:00July 20th, 2010|health care policy, nursing history, nursing perspective|1 Comment

Health Care Reform: What’s In It for Nurses?

A relaxing and safe Fourth of July weekend from the AJN editors to all nurses in the U.S., whether you’re taking it easy or on the job!

A recent poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows rising popularity for the health care reform law. Many hard decisions still need to be made; innovation is more crucial than ever. Nurses who’d like a clearer sense of how the health care reform law may affect them in the coming years should have a look at “Health Care Reform: What’s In It for Nursing?” in our July edition. Written by AJN‘s emeritus editor-in-chief Diana Mason, it points out some of the new models of care the law promotes, models in which nurses play an increasingly important and vital role at every level. As often in the dynamic history of this country, there will be new kinds of opportunities for those who are ready for them.—JM, blog editor