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Nursing and the Sustainable Development Goals: From Nightingale to Now
Barbara M Dossey1, William E Rosa, Deva-Marie Beck
1Barbara M. Dossey and Deva-Marie Beck are codirectors of the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health in Santa Fe, NM, and Kelwood, Manitoba, Canada. William E. Rosa is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia. Contact author: Barbara M. Dossey, barbara@dosseydossey.com. The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
Nurses can improve patient well-being by integrating social and environmental health determinants into care. Recognizing these factors aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for holistic health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Nursing
- Public Health
- Social Determinants of Health
Background:
- Healthcare traditionally focuses on illness rather than the broader factors influencing health.
- Florence Nightingale recognized the impact of social and environmental factors on patient well-being.
- These factors are now termed "health determinants" and are central to global health initiatives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how nurses can incorporate the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their practice.
- To guide nurses in creating holistic care plans that address health determinants.
- To bridge the gap between global health goals and daily nursing actions.
Main Methods:
- Literature review on Florence Nightingale's work and health determinants.
- Analysis of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Conceptual framework development for integrating SDGs into nursing practice.
Main Results:
- Identified key social and environmental health determinants relevant to nursing.
- Demonstrated the alignment between nursing practice and the SDGs.
- Provided examples of how to contextualize SDGs in patient care.
Conclusions:
- Nurses play a crucial role in addressing health determinants through holistic care.
- Integrating the SDGs empowers nurses to promote health at individual, community, and global levels.
- A focus on health determinants and SDGs can lead to more comprehensive and effective patient outcomes.
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