142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

308301
Taking action for the future of public health nursing

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 : 9:00 AM - 9:15 AM

Pamela A. Kulbok, DNSc, RN, PHCNS-BC, FAAN , School of Nursing, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Susan M. Swider, PhD, APHN-BC, FAAN , Department of Community, Systems and Mental Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Rush University, Chicago, IL
Pamela Levin, PhD, APHN-BC , Department of Community, Systems, and Mental Health Nursing, Rush University College of Nursing, Chicago, IL
Background: The Quad Council endorsed a national PHN invitational conference in November 2013 supported by HRSA and the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program. This conference built on reports and strategy briefs on the future of PHN from RWJF, Quad Council, AACN-CDC Cooperative Agreement, and American Academy of Nursing. The overall goal was to develop a plan to maximize the influence of public health nurses to improve the health of the public.

Description: Twenty-five participants with varied disciplinary expertise, assigned to groups, i.e., education, practice, or research, proposed five-year goals and objectives. Each group responded to a specific question related to their topic. What are the three most important actions to help PHNs (in practice, education, or research) enhance their capacity to improve the public’s health?

Lessons learned: From an array of goals and actions items, there was agreement across the three groups. 1) Identifying and supporting current and emerging PHN roles; 2) Creating and securing innovative models for sustainable funding for PHN practice; 3) Developing and supporting leadership skills at all levels and areas of PHN practice. The list of priorities also identified action steps for PHN organizations and leaders. The conference report will guide the Quad Council in selecting priorities for future action.

Implications: The major issues influencing PHN will shift with future healthcare policy and environmental changes. Although this agenda is ambitious, the prioritized plan outlines significant steps to meet the overall goal of maximizing the impact of public health nurses on improving the health of the public.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related nursing

Learning Objectives:
Describe three priority actions to meet the goal of maximizing the influence of public health nurses on improving the health of the public.

Keyword(s): Public Health Infrastructure, Workforce Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a public health nursing educator and researcher. I am Coordinator of the Public Health Nursing (PHN) Leadership track of the MSN Program at the University of Virginia. I was Co-Chair of the American Nurses Association (ANA) workgroup to revise the Public Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (2011-2013) and a member of APHA PHN Section workgroup to revise the Definition of Public Health Nursing (2013).
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.