On World Health Day April 7, Jodi Tuck, like many of her nurse colleagues, celebrated the various ways nursing makes a difference in people鈥檚 lives across the globe; in providing care, conducting research to drive evidenced-based practice forward, and effecting change in policy.
鈥淣urses work in hospitals across a wide range of domains, like pediatrics, or emergency care, but they also work in schools, government agencies, and penitentiaries, for example,鈥� says Tuck, faculty lecturer at 平特五不中鈥檚 Ingram School of Nursing (ISoN), Global and Indigenous Health Nursing (GAIHN) Co-Chair and in-house International Global Health lead. 鈥淣urses advocate for health promotion, educate patients and the public on the prevention of illness and injury, and help families learn to become healthy by helping them understand the range of emotional, physical, mental and cultural experiences they encounter during health and illness.鈥�
is an annual global health awareness day spearheaded by the with the goal of drawing the world鈥檚 attention to some of the major challenges and crises faced by communities around the world when it comes to health and health care delivery.
According to the WHO, of the world鈥檚 7.4 billion people and counting, half lack access to essential health services (e.g., vaccinations, pre- and post-natal care, etc.), and 100 million have been pushed into poverty due to health care costs.
Providing 90% of health care services in the world via a multitude of settings across the continuum of care, nurses play a crucial role in defining and in addressing global health challenges. This is a key reason why the ISoN is a proud member of the 平特五不中 Global Health community, which unites Interprofessional departments, schools and faculties across the University with the objective of addressing global health issues, working closely with Global Health Programs, directed by Dr. Madhukar Pai.
Specifically, the ISoN formally appointed GAIHN in 2015, as a unified front in overseeing all global health activities and initiatives within the School. GAIHN emphasizes that global health is about local and worldwide health improvement, reduction of disparities, recognizing the health disparities that exist for marginalized and vulnerable populations, including Indigenous peoples, persons in situations of homelessness and poverty, immigrant and refugee communities, and other populations experiencing health inequities.
鈥淲e created the name 鈥楪AIHN鈥� officially in 2015, but the activities and initiatives behind the name go back to 2002,鈥� says Tuck. 鈥淚SoN global health initiatives began before the term 鈥榞lobal health鈥� was officially recognized.鈥� GAIHN was known first as the International advisory Committee under the directorship of Dr. Susan French, then transitioned to the Global Health committee in 2008 under the directorship of Dr. H茅l猫ne Ezer, and finally, evolving into GAIHN in 2015, under the Directorship of Dr. Anita Gagnon.
In tandem with GAIHN, the ISoN developed a Global Health Concentration in 2007, an enriched educational stream for globally conscious graduate nursing students, featuring curricula designed to prepare nurses for the challenges of working with diverse populations in limited resource environments. The philosophy driving the curricula stresses the importance of understanding the inherent power dynamics, equity issues and ethical dilemmas that arise through global health nursing work.
Over the years, ISoN Global Health Concentration students have been placed in designated partnership sites located in Montreal, Northern Quebec, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Thailand, India, Nepal, Haiti and Colombia.
鈥淎t its core, when it comes to global health nursing, the concepts we want to instill in our students are that all humans should have access to health, security of person and many of the other rights many people in Canada enjoy so freely,鈥� says Tuck. 鈥淏ut I struggle with global health and international health being interchangeable terms in people鈥檚 minds, because to me, the globe is under all of our feet. Inequality is inequality, regardless of geography.鈥�
To her point, Tuck works closely with ISoN assistant professor Francoise Filion, Local Global Health Co-Chair, who spearheads the ISoN鈥檚 work with local communities, including looking at health inequities facing many Indigenous communities in Canada. The goal, as always, is to provide nursing education that underlines the importance of a holistic approach to community care, and incorporates the lived experience of groups and communities, the social determinants of health, cultural humility, and cultural safety.
鈥淚t takes a community to make Global Health education a reality at the ISoN,鈥� adds Tuck, referencing the many 平特五不中 Nursing faculty members who are engaged in Global Health teaching and research, from professor Franco Carnevale in the Algonquin communities of Rapid Lake and Winneway, Quebec, to professors Madeleine Buck and Lia Sanzone in the highlands of Tanzania, and many more.
鈥淎n important part of our role as educators is to make future nurses keenly aware of how health intersects with social, cultural, religious, political, gender and sexual 听factors and experiences,鈥� says Tuck. 鈥淣urses need to understand and integrate the reality of their patients in order to provide optimal care,鈥� she says.
Tuck and her ISoN colleagues continue to push for nurses to be recognized, celebrated and empowered to continue their important work in advocating for patients, but also, advocating for the profession itself, making nurses鈥� voices heard, and their expertise valued in all the health systems in which they work.
鈥淣urses need to speak up more about concerns and solutions that they witness to accessing quality care,鈥� says Tuck. 鈥淲e need to advance into leadership positions within provincial, national and international health organizations.鈥�
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