Assignment: Nursing and Health Policy in Other Nations

Think for a moment about nurses who relocate because of professional opportunities. How could such a seemingly personal decision have a detrimental impact on global health care? As presented in this week's Learning Resources, nurse migration is of global concern. In response to this issue, international health care organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) have positioned themselves to craft related policy as a solution. This is just one example of a global nursing policy effort.

To prepare:

• With information from the Learning Resources in mind, select a U.S. nursing- or health-related policy.
• Search the web and locate a similar policy in another country.
• Consider how the two policies are similar and dissimilar.
• Was an international organization involved in promoting the policies? If not, should they have been?

Write a minimum of 550 words in APA format with at least 3 scholarly references from the list of required readings below. Include the level one headings as numbered below"

Post a cohesive response that addresses the following:

1) Post information on the nursing or health-related policies you located including a reference to the source.

2) Indicate the country you are comparing to the U.S. (Only choose any of the countries mentioned in the articles in the list of required reading below:

3) Compare and contrast the two policies. What insights did you gain as a result of this comparison?

4) What is the role of international organizations in developing policy? Provide a specific example.

Required Readings

Bodenheimer, T., & Grumbach, K. (2016). Understanding health policy: A clinical approach (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Medical.

Chapter 14, "Health Care in Four Nations". This chapter compares the health care systems in Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, and Japan. All these nations offer universal health care; however, they organize and finance health care in varying ways.

Asadov, D.A., & Aripov, T. Y. (2009). The quality of care in post-soviet Uzbekistan: Are health reforms and international efforts succeeding? Public Health, 123(11), 725-728.

The authors discuss why health care initiatives in developing countries, such as Uzbekistan, are not succeeding, even with international involvement. They suggest involving regional input and consideration for better success.

Baillie, L., & Gallagher, A. (2009). Evaluation of the Royal College of Nursing's ‘Dignity: At the heart of everything we do' campaign: Exploring challenges and enablers. Journal of Research in Nursing, 15(1), 15-28.

This article provides details from a study concerning the Royal College of Nursing's campaign to promote dignity in care. The authors focus on two aspects of the study- "enablers" and "challenges" of providing dignity in care to patients.

Clarke, S. P., & Aiken, L. H. (2008). An international hospital outcomes research agenda focused on nursing: Lessons from a decade of collaboration. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17(24), 3317-3323.

The authors depict findings from an international nursing survey, which concludes that nurses work experiences (positive and negative) are remarkably consistent across countries, regardless of cultural differences. The authors propose that a global effort to improve the nurses work environments will lead to improved patient care.

Crigger, N. (2008). Towards a viable and just global nursing ethics. Nursing Ethics, 15 (1), 17-27.

This article discusses global justice and the nursing profession and proposes five characteristics to guide global ethics. The author proposes that technology and business can act as barriers to global justice.

Eckenwiler, L. A. (2009). The WHO code of practice on the international recruitment of health personnel: We have only just begun. Developing World Bioethics, 9(1).

The World Health Organization (WHO) has drafted a Code of Practice to encourage global health care policies. The author focuses on the detrimental impact of health care professionals migrating from source countries (usually the global South) to destination countries. The author suggests that WHO could be more specific in the code relating to stakeholders and shared responsibilities to promote collaboration by all parties involved in global health care.

Hall, L. M., Pink, G. H., Jones, C. B., Leatt, P., Gates, M., & Peterson, J. (2009). Is the grass any greener? Canada to United States of America nurse migration. International Nursing Review, 56(2), 198-205.

The authors of this research study explore why Canadian-educated nurses practice in the United States. Study results suggest that there is more opportunity for full-time employment and continuing education in the United States. Rather than recruit nurses internationally, which would only exacerbate the global work conditions of nurses, the authors propose these findings be used to create Canadian health care policies that promote the retention of nurses.

Koch, K., Schurmann, C., & Sawicki, P. (2010). The German health care system in international comparison: A patient perspective. Deutsches Arzteblatt International 107(24), 427-434.

This article provides information gleaned from a Commonwealth Fund survey on international health care experiences. The authors report a variation in patient experiences and satisfaction internationally, but German respondents reported less satisfaction than most countries. German patients tend to be seen by more than one doctor, and perhaps the reported dissatisfaction can be traced to a lack of coordination in care.

Tyer-Viola, L., Nicholas, P., Corless, I., Barry, D., Hoyt, P., Fitzpatrick, J., & Davis, S. (2009). Social responsibility of nursing: a global perspective. Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice, 10(2), 110-118. doi: 10.1177/1527154409339528

This article depicts a study that examines nursing, social responsibility, and global health. The authors focus on concepts such as social justice, human rights, nurse migration, and nurse education as well as strategies to address these issues.

World Health Organization (WHO). (2010). Managing health workforce migration-The global Code of Practice.

In 2010, WHO created the "Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel," which urges a global policy on the recruitment of health care workers that would result in better global health care outcomes.

International Council of Nurses. (2010). International Council of Nurses.

This website provides information from the ICN, an international federation of nurses associations. The ICN is a global organization, operated by nurses that advocates the profession of nursing and promotes global health care policy.

Royal College of Nursing. (2011). The Royal College of Nursing.

The RCN represents the interests of nurses in the United Kingdom and promotes health care policy.

Optional Resources

Evans, C., & Ndirangu, E. (2008). The nursing implications of routine provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling in sub-Saharan Africa: A critical review of new policy guidance from WHO/UNAIDS. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46(5), 723-731.

France, C. (2008). The form and context of federalism: Meaning for health care financing. Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law, 33(4), 649-705. doi: 10.1215/03616878-2008-012

International Nursing Review. (2009). ICN initiative to fortify health workforce will open new Centre in Uganda. International Nursing Review, 56(2), 151-152.

Pulcini, J., Jelic, M., Gul, R., & Loke, A. Y. (2010). An international survey on advanced practice nursing education, practice, and regulation. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 42(1), 31-39.