2020 “International Year of the Nurse and Midwife”:

IFNA President’s Letter of Designation 

The World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board has designated 2020 as the “International Year of the Nurse and Midwife”, in honor of the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. The Board of Directors of the International Family Nursing Association (IFNA) declares alliance and support for this designation. Three important initiatives are part of this designation; the State of the World’s Nursing Report, The NursingNow! Campaign, and The Nightingale Challenge.

The State of the World’s Nursing Report

The year 2020 is significant for WHO because nurses and midwives have a significant role in the  WHO’s 13^th General Programme of Work (GPW13) targets. Specifically, these targets are to strengthen universal health coverage, address health emergencies, and promote healthier populations. The WHO is leading the development of the first-ever “State of the World’s Nursing” report which will be launched in 2020, prior to the 73rd World Health Assembly. The report will describe the state of the nursing workforce in WHO Member States, and provide an assessment of “fitness for purpose” relative to the GPW13 targets. WHO is also a partner in The State of the World’s Midwifery 2020 report, which will be launched around the same time.

The NursingNow! Campaign The NursingNow! Campaign, is a three-year international effort (2018-2020) to improve health globally by raising the status of nursing that will culminate in 2020 by supporting country-level dissemination and policy dialogue around the State of the World’s Nursing report.

The Nightingale Challenge

The Nightingale Challenge is a related global movement aiming to contribute to the development of the next generation of nurses and nurse midwives as leaders. The Nightingale Challenge asks every health employer around the world to dedicate to providing leadership and development training for a group of nurses and midwives during the 2020 Nightingale Challenge.

The Mission of the International Family Nursing Association (IFNA) is to Transform Family Health by:

• Serving as a unifying force and voice for family nursing globally,
• Sharing knowledge, practices, and skills to enhance and nurture family nursing practice; and,
• Providing family nursing leadership through education, research, scholarship, socialization and collegial exchange on all aspects of family nursing.

Core Values of IFNA:

The International Family Nursing Association embraces a compassionate family focus on health, social justice, human dignity and respect for all.

Therefore:

IFNA supports the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife 2020 with a goal of promoting the visibility of nurses and nurses working with families around the world. IFNA joins the Year of the Nurse and Year of the Midwife Campaign specifically to: 

• improve health globally by raising the profile and status of family nurses worldwide;
• raise the profile of the concept of family in nursing and family health in varied global contexts;
• influence policymakers to support family health, and,
• support nurses working with families to lead, learn, and build a global family nursing movement.

We encourage you to think about how you may contribute to promoting the visibility of nurses and nurses working with families around the world during this important year. Several activities are being planned for IFNA members in the next several months so that we can all learn about your contributions. Please stay tuned! 

Sincerely,

IFNA President, Sonja J. Meiers, PhD, RN, PHN 

IFNA Board of Directors 

Dr. Veronica Swallow is a registered adult and sick children’s nurse with over 30 years of health care experience caring for children, young people, and families and developing and leading pediatric services; she moved to academia mid-career. Veronica is currently Professor of Child & Family Nursing & Healthcare at Sheffield Hallam University, UK and leads a national/international program of mixed-methods research, including developing and evaluating digital self-management support interventions in long-term conditions. She has established productive collaborations in national and international universities and clinical communities. With an accrued grant income of over £4.0 million as lead and co-applicant, and 60+publications in peer reviewed journals, she is regularly invited to present at national and international conferences. She currently supervises six PhD students in child and family healthcare.

Dr. Veronica Swallow has been an active IFNA member since 2012 and is currently serving as the President of IFNA. She also co-leads the UK & Ireland IFNA Chapter.

For more information, contact Dr. Veronica Swallow: [email protected]

Twitter: https://twitter.com/swallowveronica

Yuuko Mabrey Johnson, MSN-Leadership, CSN, PHN, has a distinguished 20-year career working within inclusive community-based, transdisciplinary, and trans-agency systems of family-focused care supporting diverse populations of infants and toddlers and their families through the auspices of Federal Part C Early Intervention and the California Early Start Programs.  

She is a member of a Sacramento County team created to provide training and technical assistance to local school district teachers (kindergarten through grade twelve) attempting to implement the recently released California Health Education Framework with the overarching outcomes to improve health literacy for all students, improved health outcomes, and achieve optimal health.

Yuuko is passionately involved with building alliances with local stakeholders to positively impact health disparities and promote health equity by participating in and forming relationships with pediatric residency programs, early childhood educator credentialing programs, and creating the Infant-Toddler Nurse Collaborative. 

Yuuko is currently serving as co-chair of the IFNA Practice Committee.

For more information contact IFNA member, Yuuko Mabrey Johnson at [email protected] or linkedin.com/in/yuuko-mabrey-johnson-msn-leadership-rn-37945b18/

Michelle Scotton Franklin, MSN, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC, CNS, is a PhD candidate at Duke University School of Nursing studying the health care transition, health status, and functional outcomes of adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. As a nurse scientist, she is conducting studies that will inform health policy and improve the health and well-being of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Through her role as a nurse practitioner at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, she specializes in providing integrated primary care and mental health services to individuals of all ages with developmental disabilities. She leads curriculum development and training opportunities for NPs to increase their capacity to provide evidence-based medical and psychiatric care to individuals with developmental disabilities. Throughout her work in these various capacities, she is committed to partnering with families to help them achieve their optimal health.

Michelle is a member of the IFNA Student Engagement Group and is currently serving as a member of the IFNA Communications Committee.

For more information contact IFNA member, Michelle Franklin: [email protected].

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-franklin-7b68b6126/