Quality Improvement Within Health Care Environments

Discussions about global health have taken the center stage in the increasingly interconnected world, reflecting the collective understanding that health knows no borders. The world is currently faced with a myriad of health challenges making it necessary to address the challenges through health policies and collaboration (Wilson et al., 2020). The role of international and professional organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) can also be appreciated when dealing with global health issues. This discussion focuses on planetary health issues to identify interested organizations, interdisciplinary approaches involved, and the importance to future nursing practice.

Global Health Topic

The healthcare policy topic selected for this discussion is newborn health. The World Health Organization website provides an intensive description of this health issue alongside policies that can be used to address newborn health. For example, high-quality universal newborn health care is the right for every newborn worldwide (World Health Organization (WHO), n.d.). These individuals should be protected from injury and infection and they should receive essential care during the first days of birth. According to the WHO, essential newborn care involves actions like thermal care, resuscitation when needed, nurturing care, assessment of health problems, and recognition of danger signs.

Assignment: Promoting the Nursing Role in Creating and Carrying Out Programs

One significant policy of interest related to newborn care is the Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP). ENAP was launched in 2014 as a roadmap for reducing preventable newborn deaths and stillbirths. It sets forth a vision of a world where there are no preventable deaths of newborns and stillbirths (WHO, n.d.). Consequently, the policy sets a vision where every pregnancy is wanted, childbirth is safe, and every newborn survives to reach their full potential. The policy emphasizes leadership and advocacy at all levels to prioritize newborn health on national agendas, mobilize resources, and foster collaboration among stakeholders (Moller et al., 2019). The policy recognizes the critical role of healthcare providers in delivering essential newborn care and it calls for strengthening skills to improve the quality of newborn services.

The selected policy is relevant to the role of Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs) in several ways. FNPs often provide primary care services to individuals and families across the lifespan. They play a crucial role in promoting healthy pregnancies and providing essential care to newborns. As a FNP, I am in support of the ENAP policy because it promotes quality care for mothers and newborns before, during, and after childbirth (Moller et al., 2019). FNPs can help to promote this policy through advocacy to ensure more proactive ways are used to address social determinants of health that impact newborn health disparities.

Position and Vested Stakeholders

Essential newborn care is a primary responsibility of the nurse that involves directly caring for the newborn and engagement of multiple stakeholders. One of the key stakeholders that nurses owe responsibility to is the patient, including the newborn and families. Nurses have the responsibility of providing safe childbirth, breastfeeding, and early bonding and facilitating access to essential healthcare services. The nurse promotes the implementation of newborn health policies through advocacy and educating other providers on the importance of newborn health (Biswas & Podder, 2023). The second key stakeholder that nurses owe social responsibility to is healthcare institutions and systems. Nurses have a responsibility to improve care delivery in these institutions by engaging in evidence-based newborn care and advocacy.

Advanced nurse practitioners like FNPs should participate in quality improvement initiatives and research projects aimed at enhancing newborn health outcomes, identifying best practices, and reducing healthcare disparities (Wilson et al., 2020). Another key stakeholder group involves the community and society. Nurses play a vital role in promoting newborn health at the community level through education, outreach, and advocacy efforts. Nurses should advocate for policies and programs that support maternal and child health and raise awareness about newborn health issues in the community.

Geographical Boundaries, Equity, and Interdisciplinary Approach

The topic of newborn health has gained interest from local, national, and international organizations. One such organization is WHO through the ENAP policy and the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (WHO, n.d.). Another organization is the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The organization has programs like maternal, newborn, and child survival that aim at improving the survival chances of newborns and mothers globally. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is another organization that has shown interest in the issue of newborn health. The organization provides funding to low and middle-income countries to ensure newborn survival before, during, and after childbirth.

Using the Send-A-Problem Activity for Classroom Learning

Interdisciplinary approaches to the issue of newborn health are recommended to ensure the social, environmental, and biological factors involved are fully addressed (Moller et al., 2019). The fact that newborn health outcomes are influenced by various factors requires interdisciplinary collaboration to address the issue comprehensively. Collaboration allows the exchange of ideas, perspectives, and methodologies to improve newborn health outcomes (Biswas & Podder, 2023). An interdisciplinary approach also enables the design and implementation of comprehensive interventions that address the multiple determinants of newborn health simultaneously.

Advocate as a Global Citizen

The global policy related to newborn health has significant implications for future nursing practice, especially for nurse practitioners. The first implication is the need for interdisciplinary collaboration between nurses, physicians, midwives, and policymakers to address the complex determinants of newborn health (Moller et al., 2019). The second implication strengthening global health equity to improve outcomes for newborns regardless of their geographical location. The third implication is the need to focus on sustainability and environmental health. Future nursing practice will need to integrate principles of environmental health and advocate for policies and practices that promote clean air, safe water, and healthy environments for newborns.

In conclusion, ENAP is a health policy highlighted by the WHO that ensures the promotion of health for newborns and mothers. The policy emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, global health equity, and sustainability in addressing newborn health challenges worldwide (WHO, n.d.). Key stakeholders that need to be involved in addressing the issue of newborn health include patients and families, healthcare organizations, and the community where the identified population lives. The issue of newborn health has implications for future nursing practice which include interdisciplinary collaboration, achieving global health equity, and ensuring sustainability and environmental health.

References

Biswas, S. C., & Podder, D. (2023). Nurturing inter-professional collaboration for positive childbirth experiences. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 18(4), 842–843.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtumed.2023.01.003

Moller, A. B., Patten, J. H., Hanson, C., Morgan, A., Say, L., Diaz, T., & Moran, A. C. (2019). Monitoring maternal and newborn health outcomes globally: A brief history of key events and initiatives. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 24(12), 1342-1368. https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13313

Wilson, A. N., Spotswood, N., Hayman, G. S., Vogel, J. P., Narasia, J., Elijah, A., … & Homer, C. S. E. (2020). Improving the quality of maternal and newborn care in the Pacific region: A scoping review. The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 3. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2020.100028

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Newborn health: Essential newborn care. https://www.who.int/teams/maternal-newborn-child-adolescent-health-and-ageing/newborn-health/essential-newborn-care