Strengthening Nursing’s Global Impact in the Americas

I was privileged to contribute my expertise to the report “Strategic Direction for Nursing in the Region of the Americas,” recently published by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

PAHO is the international health agency for the Americas. From its Washington, DC, headquarters, 25+ country offices and three specialized centers in the region, it promotes evidenced-based decision-making to improve health as a driver of sustainable development.

“Strategic Direction for Nursing” reflects PAHO’s ongoing commitment to strengthen nursing practice and education and empower nurses to improve health around the world. It provides guidance for the advancement and sustainment of nursing along three lines of action:

1. Strengthening and consolidating leadership and strategic management of nursing in the context of health systems and in policymaking and monitoring.
2. Addressing the working conditions and capacities of nurses to expand access and coverage with equity and quality to promote a people-, family- and community-centered model of care, and strengthen both primary care and integrated health networks.
3. Improving the quality of nursing education to respond to the needs of health systems focused on universal access to health, universal health coverage and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Why is this important? Nurses are the largest group of the health care workforce and thus vital to any efforts to improve the quality of health care itself. To invest in nursing is to advance toward better access and universal coverage, with a profound effect on global health.

As this report makes clear, strengthening the role of nurses in the Region of the Americans will require the participation and collaboration of the health, education, regulation, work and community sectors. It’s imperative that key stakeholders – including governments, health services, health and nursing regulators, schools of nursing and midwifery and nursing associations – join forces to achieve these goals.

To read Strategic Direction for Nursing in the Region of the Americas click below:

In English | In Spanish | In Portuguese