Dear IFNA Colleagues,
The IFNA Board of Directors met on September 10, 2015 and one of our topics of discussion is the terrible trauma and suffering being lived out by so many families in our global community who are displaced and separated by war, violence, and poverty. Not only is this happening in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe; Central American families are choosing to send unaccompanied children across many countries to the United States to escape death by violence. As we learned at our 12thInternational Family Nursing Conference during the remarkable plenary given by Dr. Stevan Weine, such trauma and suffering has long-term implications for family health. We also learned that family is the foundation for interventions to alleviate suffering.
What can we do as an organization to support families and soften suffering? Let us learn from each other how to work most effectively. We propose to gather evidence-informed resources about approaches and interventions that address trauma and have the potential to alleviate suffering. Many of us do not have expertise in this area. Yet as families move within our world to find a safe and welcoming haven, we may meet them in our practice.
As a committed community of family nursing scholars and clinicians, how can we respond in a meaningful way? Let’s begin by sharing ideas and resources with each other. Let’s see if we can grow our understanding of what works, what doesn’t work, and the circumstances in which family nursing assessment and intervention may work best. We are also beginning this conversation within our IFNA Standing Committees and hope to develop a respository of useful resources which will be posted on the IFNA website.
Warmest regards,
Carole Robinson, PhD, RN, IFNA President
