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WISH showcases role of nurses at ICN 2021 Congress

Published: 07 Nov 2021 - 09:05 am | Last Updated: 07 Nov 2021 - 09:07 am
Participants during Nurses for Health Equity Session.

Participants during Nurses for Health Equity Session.

The Peninsula

Doha: The World Innovation Summit for Health, Qatar Foundation’s global health initiative, has continued to promote the role of nurses as leaders in addressing some of the world’s biggest healthcare challenges through its hosting and participation in the International Council of Nurses (ICN) 2021 Congress.

Held bi-annually, the ICN Congress brings together nurses from around the world to share best practice, research and knowledge. This year’s theme was “Nursing Around the World”, and participants showcased their innovations and expertise in areas such as the future of healthcare and digital health and innovation through a range of live events and sessions.

In recent years WISH, through its research and global initiatives, has worked to empower nurses to take positive action, and identify where investments need to be made to develop effective nursing leaders who can drive change. 

At ICN 2021, the “Nurses for Health Equity” session hosted by WISH focused on a recent WISH report of the same name. The report looks at how COVID-19 has played a pivotal part in highlighting the importance of nurses and their role in providing high-quality healthcare as well as making expert contributions across policy, education, and research domains. 

In alignment with the vision of ICN and the values of the World Health Organization (WHO), WISH continues to highlight the need for empowering nurses and investment in nurses and nursing, in order to strategically address the social determinants of health and move towards health equity in both health systems and communities. The session provided guidelines across several key areas, including education and training, working with individuals and communities, and the role of healthcare organizations as employers, managers and commissioners, among others. 

Those participating in the session were Dr. Billy Rosa, Chief Research Fellow at the Department of Psychiatry in Behavioral Sciences at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Howard Catton, CEO of the ICN, and Ariani Pertiwi, Secretary of the Undergraduate Nursing Programme at the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing at the University of Gadjah Mada in Indonesia. 

Commenting on how nurses can be encouraged to push for health equity, Dr. Rosa, who is also one of the authors of the report, said: “Nurses are already empowered as advocates. What we have to do is support them in realising the potential that they have. What makes an effective advocate is somebody who can use science and patient stories to be memorable, and to make an impact towards policy change. Nurses have the opportunity and the ability to lean into the evidence to make sure they are bringing the data forward for evidence-based changes.”

The second session that WISH hosted at the event was titled, “Nursing-led Research: A Call to Action”, and examined the role of nurses in leading research, including the challenges they face, emerging opportunities, and the way forward. 

Those participating in the session were Dr. Deborah White, Dean and Professor at University of Calgary in Qatar, Professor Rowaida Al Maaitah, Professor at the Faculty of Nursing at Jordan University of Science and Technology, Professor Lisa Bayliss-Pratt, Pro-Vice Chancellor at Coventry University and Programme Director for the Nursing Now Challenge, and Jeannine Blake, Intensive Care Nurse and PHD Candidate at University of Massachusetts Amherst.

WISH CEO, Sultana Afdhal, joined the session to announce two new nursing-led research grants which are funded by WISH and open to entries from around the world. The grants will be awarded to projects that address themes including sustainability, disability, and health in a post-COVID world, and one will be dedicated to a research project that is conducted in Arabic.”