Population health in a global society: Preparing nurses for the future

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced awareness that the health of populations is inextricably linked around the globe. Nurses require increased knowledge and preparation in global health. Nursing educators need examples of how to improve content in the curriculum.

The purpose of this paper is to describe reconceptualization of a master's level nursing course entitled "Population Health in a Global Society" to include global health competencies.

We identified four global health competencies within the following three domains: globalization of health and healthcare; collaboration, partnering, and communication; and sociocultural and political awareness.

We utilized guest lectures, a panel discussion, discussion forums and an independent research assignment. The methods used were well received by students, and the content delivered improved their perceived knowledge in global population health.

The global health domains and competencies provided a roadmap for improving our course to focus on population health from a global perspective.

In order to prepare nurses to contribute to global population health, population health courses should integrate global health competencies. The content of the revised course will better prepare nurses who will practice in a wide variety of settings and is designed for interdisciplinary education.