A call to action for public health nurses during the COVID‐19 pandemic (original) (raw)

Getting the COVID‐19 pandemic into perspective: a nursing imperative

International Nursing Review, 2020

As we approach the seventh month of the latest pandemic to wreak havoc and death across all societies, it beggars belief that many world and national leaders have acted surprised at the speed and destructive efficiency of COVID-19. Nurses are not surprised by the level of misery and devastation that infectious diseases can cause. We have seen it all before. In every outbreak through history, nurses have responded to the dangers that direct engagement with such crises entails. The inherent risks nurses face in controlling potentially fatal pathogens are compounded by flaccid public policy and incompetent management, resulting in poorly resourced preparedness for the epidemics and pandemics that routinely punctuate our history. That nurses are repeatedly placed in such precarious work environments is an indictment on all involved. Over time, nurses responding to populations in crisis have learned not to rely too heavily on those occupying leadership positions for front-line resources and protection or even early warnings or open disclosure about contagion risk, case numbers and outcomes. Once the danger has passed, the usual public expressions of gratitude for nurses who put themselves in harm's way to help victims of these catastrophes seem to fade, amid hasty efforts to consolidate policies, processes and hierarchies back to the same settings that allowed the current crisis to flourish. So far in this pandemic, an unconfirmed number of nurses and other health workers have either died usually as a result of their involvement with infectious patients or become infected themselves. Data collection on this is haphazard at best, with nurse deaths absorbed within the aggregated morbidity data reported on during pandemics. This is despite nurses being the prominent professional workforce providing crucial front-line interventions to protect public health. It is time nurses involved themselves with the overdue reformation of public health policies, information management and health systems that would seek to return nurses to precarious work environments and trivialize foreseeable risks to us, our communities and patients.

Nursing Management for Covid 19 Pandemics

Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, 2021

Nurses represent the backbone of any health care system. Today in the fight against Covid-19, several nurses find themselves on the frontline. This report is a clear reminder of their important position and a wake-up call to ensure that they receive the help they need to keep the planet safe. 1 Nurses play a very important function, locally as well as internationally. They are on the front lines, day in and day out, taking care of these patients. "They are able to see what is working, as well as things that can be done differently to provide more effective and efficient care, and offer suggestions for improvement." 2020 is recognized by the World Health Organization as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife-On the function of nurses in the preparation and reaction to disasters. (World Health Organization) Globally, the way the world views nurses and health care professionals already changes. Because not everyone knows what is happening in a health care facility, the COVID-19 pandemic is high The COVID-19 pandemic has brought nurses to the forefront of people's minds and there is a daily capture of the media attention and public gratitude to health care professionals. 2 This short communication concludes with the key role of nurses for effective management during covid-19 pandemics.

Challenges and opportunities for nurses during COVID-19 pandemic

Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences , 2020

Background: Pandemic of COVID-19 coincided with the year of Nurses and Midwives 2020. In war against invisible that has been ongoing during this pandemic, nurses play crucial role. As of June 2020, more than 600 nurses have lost their lives due to COVID-19. Nursing practice takes patients' safety at paramount through continuum of testing, quarantine and isolation. Thus, there is need to review challenges that pandemic has posed as well as the avenues of opportunities that it has opened for nurses. Method: Review of existing literature on nurses, their challenges and opportunities during COVID-19 was done using electronic database. Freely accessible literatures in English language that clearly mentioned on challenges and opportunities of nurses during COVID-19 were included in the study. Result: One of thechallenges that nurses face during COVID-19 is workforce shortage. With increasing number of people infected with COVID-19, it outstretches the existing nursing health workforce, and disproportionately in the low and middle incomes countries. They are at risk of infection and have high job demand. The incidents of suicide among nurses are representation of physical distress and psychological trauma. Role of nurses in patients care during COVID-19 can be underrated and stigmatized. Internationally trained nurses and minorities nurses are at increased risk of discrimination. Despite these challenges, COVID-19 puts forward opportunities for nurses on implementing humanistic theory in practice, self-esteem and sharing of real time stories, contingency management and creativity. It opens platform for leading infection prevention measures and advocacy of profession. Conclusion: Being the pertinent stakeholders in patient care, nurses' faces different challenges as well as some opportunities. COVID-19 has opened avenues for advocacy of nursing profession to get acknowledged for their dedication, perseverance, high morale and contribution during the pandemic management.

Nurses on the Frontline against the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Integrative Review

Dubai Medical Journal

COVID-19 has affected the life and health of more than 1 million people across the world. This overwhelms many countries’ healthcare systems, and, of course, affects healthcare providers such as nurses fighting on the frontlines to safeguard the lives of everyone affected. Exploring the issues that nurses face during their battle will help support them and develop protocols and plans to improve their preparedness. Thus, this integrative review will explore the issues facing nurses during their response to the COVID-19 crisis. The major issues facing nurses in this situation are the critical shortage of nurses, beds, and medical supplies, including personal protective equipment and, as reviews indicate, psychological changes and fears of infection among nursing staff. The implications of these findings might help to provide support and identify the needs of nurses in all affected countries to ensure that they can work and respond to this crisis with more confidence. Moreover, this wi...

COVID‐19: Implications for Nursing and Health Care in the United States

Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 2022

Purpose: COVID-19 and other recent infectious disease outbreaks have highlighted the urgency of robust, resilient health systems. We may now have the opportunity to reform the flawed health care system that made COVID-19 far more damaging in the United States (U.S.) than necessary. Design and Methods: Guided by the World Health Organization (WHO) Health System Building Blocks framework (WHO, 2007) and the socio-ecological model (e.g., McLeroy et al., 1988), we identified challenges in and strengths of the U.S.' handling of the pandemic, lessons learned, and policy implications for more resilient future health care delivery in the U.S. Using the aforementioned frameworks, we identified crucial, intertwined domains that have influenced and been influenced by health care delivery in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic through a review and analysis of the COVID-19 literature and the collective expertise of a panel of research and clinical experts. An iterative process using a modified Delphi technique was used to reach consensus. Findings: Four critically important, interrelated domains needing improvement individually, interpersonally, within communities, and for critical public policy reform were identified: Social determinants of health, mental health, communication, and the nursing workforce. Conclusions: The four domains identified in this analysis demonstrate the challenges generated or intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, their dynamic interconnectedness, and the critical importance of health equity to resilient health systems, an effective pandemic response, and better health for all.

Rebuilding Community-Based and Public Health Nursing in the Wake of COVID-19

OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has reset the table for a dialogue about health equity, public health, and the future of nursing. Experts anticipated that payment reforms would lead to a much-needed increase in community and public health nursing. Despite calls for the profession of nursing to take a leadership role in addressing the social determinants of health and health equity, data show that jobs for nurses in community-based clinics and public health have actually declined in the last decade. This article offers background on the ongoing decline in public health infrastructure in the United States, an analysis of workforce data on nursing jobs using the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses from the years 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2018, and the National Association of County and City Health Officials from 2008 to 2019, as well as a discussion of why these findings are so troubling. We discuss policy implications for nurse educators related to curricula and clinical experiences, and fo...

Nursing crisis: Challenges and opportunities for our profession after COVID‐19

International Journal of Nursing Practice

As the world begins to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic-still fearing that maybe this is not yet the end-we must embrace a still unclear future and act to shape it. Whatever lies ahead, recovery and reconstruction will require much energy, creativity and determination. COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020. By 14 May 2022-just over 2 years later-it had resulted in 6.2 million deaths around the world, including tens of thousands of health and care workers (WHO, 2021). Nurses have been on the front lines, confronting a world turned upside down, and have faced each viral wave and continue to face new surges with courage, expertise and compassion. First, we faced an unknown pathogen with limited knowledge, personal protective equipment and tools to diagnose and treat COVID-19. Healthcare workers had more than sevenfold higher risk of severe COVID-19 compared with other occupations (Mutambudzi et al., 2020). Then came waves of grave illness and incessant deaths. Nurses across all sectors have shown unimaginable resilience.