The Global Health Nursing Imperative: Using Competency-Based Analysis to Strengthen Accountability for Population Focused Practice, Education, and Research

Abstract

Background: The Quad Council Competencies for Public Health Nurses are used to guide community and public health nursing course development in baccalaureate nursing programs. As clinical practice has expanded to global settings, the appropriateness of the 2011 Quad Council Public Health Nursing (PHN) Competencies to guide global clinical practice and evaluation was questioned.

Objective: To describe a comparison and analysis of three sets of competencies: PHN competencies, competencies for global health nurses, and interprofessional competencies for health professionals.

Method: A literature review identified the most current guidelines and competencies for global health practice. Two seminal articles, "Global Health Competencies for Nurses in the Americas" and "Identifying Interprofessional Global Health Competencies for 21st-Century Health Professionals," were reviewed and compared with the 2011 Quad Council Public Health Nursing Competencies. A six-member multi-site team conducted a qualitative thematic approach to competency analysis. A four column crosswalk spreadsheet grid was used for comparison of the three sets of competencies. Column four was created to identify possible exemplars for clinical practice.

Findings: Gaps exist in the PHN competencies for specific global and interprofessional competencies.

Recommendations: Enhanced and consistent emphasis on population/global health, and interprofessional content throughout nursing curricula is necessary to prepare providers for practice in global settings. Incorporation of global and interprofessional competencies should be considered in the revision of competencies for PHN practice to enhance productive contributions to community health outcomes. Consideration of proper placement of content gaps within basic and advanced nursing education as well as leveling for community/public health nursing practice needs to be addressed by nursing education and practice. In the interim, a special course or elective may be appropriate, especially for schools having clinical nursing practicums in international settings. Clinical evaluation in low-resource settings needs to be enhanced and aligned with competencies.

Keywords: global health competencies; global health nursing; interprofessional nursing; nursing competencies; public health nursing.