Advancement of global health: Recommendations from the Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing & Midwifery (GAPFON®)

Aims: To discuss nurses' contributions to global health through their participation in GAPFON®.

Design: Discussion paper that reviews literature related to global health, global nursing and midwifery based on the contributions of the GAPFON® report.

Data sources: A literature search of electronic databases was conducted for published articles during 2014-2018 in English focusing on the main themes of the GAPFON® report. Manual searches of relevant journals and internet sites were also undertaken.

Results: Recommendations and strategies were discussed that could have an impact on the advancement of the nursing profession's contribution to global health based on the GAPFON® report outcomes.

Implications for nursing: GAPFON® provides a framework to synergize and converge our activities to address professional issues around the globe, through implementation of the suggested strategies identified in the GAPFON® report. GAPFON® has engaged with nursing and midwifery leaders around the globe to determine both the most pressing health issues and professional issues in regions and the report is a synthesis of all the data, reflecting regional and global challenges. This article explores ways of how the report can be used as a basis for engagement with decision makers in global health.

Conclusion: Advances in the professional areas embedded in the GAPFON® Model are expected to lead to capacity building, evidence-based practice and ultimately improved quality of global health care. The strategies for implementation identified by regional stakeholders can have an impact on the global health agenda by focusing on nurses and midwives as the drivers of this change.