Public Health Nursing in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities for Women and Children’s Health

Abstract

This special issue focuses upon public health nursing with women and children in the 21st century. There are 6 papers which address a range of topics illustrating some of the opportunities and challenges arising in this area of nursing work from Ireland, Norway, Finland, UK, Canada, and Brazil.Two papers (A. Clancy et al. and R. Bryars et al.) remind us of how public health nursing varies according to context and population. This is illustrated in a comparative sense in the paper by A. Clancy and colleagues which compares public health nursing models in Ireland and Norway. These two countries have many similarities from a geographic and demographic perspective. Both have similar sized populations, but economically there are vast differences between Ireland and Norway in relation to poverty; most notably, life expectancy is lower and inequalities are higher in Ireland. Nevertheless, both countries have a strong commitment to WHO reforms towards primary care, and public health nurses have been identified as key players in the delivery of primary care services, particularly primary prevention. Families with children living in areas of high deprivation face multiple health and social challenges and this high level of need impacts on the work of health practitioners working in such areas. The paper by R. Bryar and colleagues reports the use of a Delphi approach to identify priority areas for health visiting practice in an area of deprivation in the UK. This process identified a wide spectrum of health and social needs indicative of the level of deprivation in the area and pressures on families with children and is the first stage of a six-stage project which aims to develop a toolkit of resources for evidence-based practice in health visiting.Public health nursing is often focused on addressing the health needs of "at risk" or marginalized groups, and this is illustrated in different ways in 3 papers which address postnatal depression (K. Glavin and P. Leahy-Warren), child maltreatment (J. Inkilä and colleagues), and maternal substance abuse (N. Letourneau and colleagues). K. Glavin, and P. Leahy-Warren discuss the global prevalence of postnatal depression and how this serious health issue is specifically addressed in Ireland and Norway. They cite international research studies that clearly indicate the positive difference public health nurses make when screening and referring for postnatal depression. Although the health care systems are dramatically different between Ireland and Norway, both countries strive to offer universal services to all new mothers by public health nurses.Child maltreatment is a global problem and a multidimensional phenomenon occurring in all social classes. The paper by J. Inkilä and colleagues depicts interprofessional collaboration associated with the detection of and early intervention in child maltreatment taking place in the family in Finland. The results provide basic knowledge of interprofessional collaboration associated with child maltreatment between the agencies involved in the ...

Navigating Child Protection Challenges in Nairobi’s Mukuru Kwa Njenga Informal Settlement

“…From their background, shaped by their socialisation, people are likely to be uncomfortable, anxious, and fearful of the consequences of their actions when dealing with certain types of child abuse (Lazenbatt & Freeman, 2006). Others might consider it an ethical obligation to address child abuse and, therefore, adopt a supportive role for advocacy for the survivor (Peckover et al, 2013). On the other hand, child abuse is seen as a family or a personal issue that should be handled at the personal and or family level (Reijneveld et al, 2008).…”