The mission of the International Family Nursing Association (IFNA) is “to foster the individual and collective development of nurses involved in the promotion of health care to families by providing a unique international forum of shared responsibility for the advance of family nursing. IFNA offers opportunities for leadership, socialization, and collegial exchange related to all aspects of family nursing.”

According to this mission statement, family nursing involves the promotion of health care to families. What are the boundaries of family nursing, and how does one know if one is engaged in family nursing? Does the effective promotion of health care to families require specific educational preparation or training? Should this content be incorporated across nursing program curricula, and/or does the practice of family nursing require coursework specifically in family health nursing?  How could systems of health care in your region or nation be improved to foster family nursing?

Is family nursing evolving over time?

Please share your thoughts…

Welcome to the new website for the International Family Nursing Association. Following affirmation for the creation of IFNA at the 9th International Family Nursing Conference in Iceland, the newly elected Board of Directors and Strategic Plan Committee conducted a Needs Assessment Survey to better understand the needs and interests of members of the association. The results of that survey can be viewed by clicking on this link.

There were four dominant themes identified in the responses to the survey:
1. A website was the number one priority for members, with the anticipation that it be the site for communication and networking.
2. Access to materials through the website (family intervention protocols, bibliographies, family nursing research materials, etc.) also was a high priority.
3. All areas of family nursing received high ratings in the survey, with family nursing research being the most highly rated interest of members, followed by family nursing education and practice.
4. The resounding message received in the survey was that members want to be involved.

The Communications Committee, with generous support from Mark Riley (Ohio University) as the website designer, has been working to create a website that allows IFNA members to participate, contribute, be engaged, and network. We welcome you to the website and encourage you to provide feedback about how the website is working for you. Please explore the resources for family nursing research, practice, and education (currently under development). These resources have been submitted by IFNA members and synthesized by the research, practice, and education committees. You are encouraged to submit content for the website by contacting the committee chairs (listed on the resource pages).

Please also explore the social networking aspects of the website, where members can actively engage in conversations about the association, upcoming conferences, family nursing resources, and newsworthy events in the world of family nursing. We have provided some instructions in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)  section of the site. Additional FAQs will be posted as questions arise.

Groups have been created to enable committees to share and plan in a secure, private forum within the IFNA website. Your active engagement is encouraged. IFNA members who wish to join a committee can contact the committee chairs for more information. Please join the 2013 Conference group to join in a conversation about ideas for the next IFNC in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Thank you for your patience as we discover ways to improve the website and deal with the challenge of “going live”.

Respectfully,

Wendy Looman and Janice Bell, IFNA Communications Committee co-chairs
Sharon Denham, Board Liaison

Needs Assessment Survey results (pdf)

Strategic Plan