EMERGING GLOBAL HEALTH

ISSUES
A NURSE’ S ROLE
Dr Queen Mary S
Global health is the health of the populations in
the worldwide context; it has been defined as
"the area of study, research and practice that
places a priority on improving health and
achieving equity in health for all people
worldwide"
 DEFINITIONS OF
GLOBAL HEALTH ISSUES
1. Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases... have been defined

as "emerging."
These diseases are with increased
incidence in humans in the past 2
decades or threat of increase in the
near future, have been defined as
"emerging." 
They include new infections resulting from
changes to or evolution of existing
organisms; known infections spreading to
new geographic areas or populations;
previously unrecognized infections
appearing in areas undergoing ecologic
transformation;
and old infections reemerging as a result of
antimicrobial resistance in known agents
or breakdowns in public health measures (
Morse, 1995).
HumanTrafficking
Human trafficking is defined as all acts involved
in recruiting, harboring, transporting,
providing, or obtaining a person for compelled
service or commercial sex acts through the use
of force, fraud, or coercion (DeBaca & Sigmon
, 2014). This global health issue, although not
new, has recently garnered increased concern.
Maternal-NewbornHealth
Maternal mortality is defined as the death of
a woman while pregnant, or within 42 days
of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of
the duration and site of the pregnancy, from
any cause related to or aggravated by the
pregnancy or its management (i.e., from
direct or indirect obstetric death), but not
from accidental or incidental causes (
Morse, 2014).
The major causes of death in newborns
include complications of premature birth
and intra-partum related complications
(previously labeled as birth asphyxia and
sepsis
Globally, the rate of deaths from
noncommunicable causes, such as heart
disease, stroke, and injuries, is growing. At
the same time, the number of deaths from
infectious diseases, such as malaria,
tuberculosis, and vaccine-preventable
diseases, is decreasing.
Many developing countries must now
deal with a “dual burden” of disease: they
must continue to prevent and control
infectious diseases, while also
addressing the health threats from
noncommunicable diseases and
environmental health risks.
As social and economic conditions in
developing countries change and their
health systems and surveillance improve,
more focus will be needed to address
noncommunicable diseases, mental
health, substance abuse disorders, and,
especially, injuries (both intentional and
unintentional).
Expanding international trade introduces new
health risks. A complex international distribution
chain has resulted in potential international
outbreaks due to foodborne infections, poor
quality pharmaceuticals, and contaminated
consumer goods.
MALDISTRIBUTION OF HEALTH CARE
WORKFORCE

12.9 million health care professionals

shortage by 2035.
ALLOCATION OF ADEQUATE FINANCIAL
RESOURCES & INFRASTRUCTURE
RURAL AREAS HAVE FEWER HEALTH
RESOURCES & LOWER STAFFING.
ROLE OF A NURSE
Matching nursing roles with the determinants of health and
disease
• Social

• Environment

• Physical
Health and
• Cultural
disease in a

• Genetic community
• Health system
Nurses have an expanding role in emerging Global Health issues

1.Nurses have valuable expertise, competencies, ability to prevent, manage the infectious disease out breaks.
2. Nurses are positioned for important roles in care delivery, education, leadership & policy making to bring positive health outcomes.

• Emerging Infectious Diseases:

 HUMAN TRAFFICKING – NURSES ROLE

Two most common trafficking are : sexual

exploitation (53%) & forced lab 40 %
• 800,000 people are trafficked every year.

• Signs of HUMAN TRAFFICKING:

• The patient is brought in by a handler who
won’t let the patient speak for themselves, pay
for themselves, or be out of the handler’s sight
—even to go to the bathroom.
The patient shows signs of physical and/or
sexual abuse.
During the screening process, the victim
seems fearful and anxious, especially if law
enforcement is discussed.
They may also appear detached and
withdrawn.
The patient has no IDs, no immunization
status, and few possessions.
The patient does not know the day or month
that their injury occurred or illness began.
Their story about the illness or injury is
inconsistent.
NURSES ROLE IN HUMAN TRAFICKING
• Nurses can play a role in educating the public
by hanging flyers about human trafficking in
their workplace, listing emergency phone/text
numbers; offering seminars and webinars on
the topic; and interacting with at-risk groups.
• Call 100 for saving the victim.
• Creating public awareness is important
 MATERNAL NEW BORN HEALTH –
NURSES ROLE
Care Provider
The nurse provides direct patient-centered care to
women, infants, children, and their families in times
of childbearing, illness, injury, recovery, and
wellness. 
Con..
• The nurse obtains health histories, assesses patient needs, monitors
growth and development, performs health-screening procedures,
develops comprehensive plans of care, provides treatment and care,
makes referrals, and evaluates the effects of care. Nursing of children
is especially based on an understanding of the child’s developmental
stage and is aimed at meeting the child’s physical and emotional needs
at that level.
• Developing a therapeutic relationship - providing
support to patients and their families are essential
components of nursing care.
These nurses strive to empower families,
encouraging them to participate in their self-care
and the care of their child.
Teacher

• Education is an essential role of today’s

nurse. Teaching begins early, before and
during a woman’s prenatal care, and
continues through her recovery from
childbirth and learning to care for her
newborn, and into her care in women’s
health.
Collaborator

• Nurses collaborate with other members of the

health care team, often coordinating and managing
the patient’s care. Care is improved by an
interdisciplinary approach as nurses work together
with dietitians, social workers, physicians, and
others. Comprehensive and thorough
interdisciplinary communication enhances the
effectiveness of collaboration and increases the
provision of high quality and safe care 
Researcher

• Nurses contribute to their profession’s knowledge base by

systematically investigating theoretic or practice issues in
nursing. Nursing does much more than simply “borrow”
scientific knowledge from medicine and basic sciences. Nursing
generates and answers its own questions based on evidence
within its unique subject area. The responsibility for providing
evidence-based, patient-centered care is not limited to nurses
with graduate degrees. It is important that all nurses appraise
and apply appropriate research findings to their practice, rather
than basing care decisions merely on intuition or tradition.
 Researcher
• Evidence-based practice is no longer just an ideal but an
expectation of nursing practice. Nurses can contribute to
the body of professional knowledge by demonstrating an
awareness of the value of nursing research and assisting
in problem identification and data collection. Nurses
should keep their knowledge current by networking and
sharing research findings at conferences, by publishing,
and by evaluating research journal articles.
Advocate

• An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of

another. Care can become impersonal as the
health care environment becomes more
complex. The wishes and needs of children
and families are sometimes discounted or
ignored in the effort to treat and to cure. 
 Nurses expand access to care
• Geographically remote areas

• Medically underserved areas

• Primary care

• School health

• telehealth
THANK YOU