IFNA News - International Family Nursing Association

IFNA Response to the Recent Executive Order in the United States Regarding Immigration and Refugees

This document can be retrieved from: http://conta.cc/2kDXYUA

The world is experiencing a significant time of political instability and divisiveness. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the United States with the recent executive order barring people from designated countries entry into the United States. The executive order created chaos and suffering for families, which concerns the International Family Nursing Association.

The International Family Nursing Association is a community of family nurse clinicians, teachers, and scholars who value the uniqueness of each and every family. Our mission is to transform family health globally by serving as a unifying force and voice for family nursing; sharing knowledge, practices, and skills to nurture family nursing practice; and, providing leadership in relation to all aspects of family nursing. Honoring diversity is a cornerstone of family nursing.

We support nurses worldwide who care for, teach about, and learn from families, particularly those families experiencing the trauma and uncertainties of displacement and separation. The following resources may be useful to you as you undertake this critically important work.

IFNA Response to the Global Refugee Crisis: Caring for Refugee Families: This initiative was requested by IFNA President Carole Robinson and is meant to serve as a toolkit of resources for family nurses around the world who are caring for refugee families: “Family nurses have always been in a unique position to assist families who are experiencing physical, psychological, relational, and/or spiritual distress of forced migration and displacement due to armed conflict, violence, persecution, poverty, and disaster.”

National Council on Family Relations

Message from Dr. Carole Robinson (Canada), IFNA President (2015-2017)

July 2017

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It has been my honor and privilege to have served you and the International Family Nursing Association (IFNA) over the last two years. I am excited (as well as a bit sad) to be stepping into the Past-President position on the IFNA Board of Directors. We have such a strong and committed board led by your new President Jane Lasseter and President Elect Sonja Meiers; IFNA is well positioned to build on the momentum of the last few years in even more creative directions.

We have made major strides as a result of the dedication and hard work of so many of you. To recap, here are a few accomplishments:

Our strategic plan, which was completed in an innovative collaborative partnership between the IFNA Board of Directors and the Standing Committees: https://internationalfamilynursing.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IFNA_StrategicPlan_Revise-FINAL-APPROVED.pdf
A new process for terms of reference for each IFNA Standing Committee based on initiatives aligned with the strategic plan.
The formation of an IFNA ad hoc committee of ‘Committee co-Chairs’ led by Kathryn Anderson and myself to enhance the synergy between IFNA committees and brainstorm ways for IFNA to become more active in promoting family nursing globally.
Revision of the IFNA bylaws to better reflect our structure and governance requirements.
Development and systematic dissemination of ground breaking IFNA Position Statements: https://internationalfamilynursing.org/association-information/position-statements/
A successful 3^rd official meeting of IFNA and gathering of the clan at IFNC13.

At this time in history when the health and wellbeing of families is threatened by war, displacement, and many forms of extremism, each and every family we touch with knowledge and skill in a relationship of respect, curiosity, non-judgement, and compassion has the potential to make a difference that matters. I am grateful for the support you offered me over the last two years and for all that you do to nurture the health and wellbeing of families globally. You gave me the opportunity to grow my leadership skills and were patient with me as I learned.

With deep appreciation,

Carole A. Robinson, PhD, RN

Message from Dr. Jane Lassetter (USA), IFNA President (2017-2019)

I had to hold back tears as I gazed at the IFNC13 welcome reception’s audience filled with family nurses who waved their flags as each of their 30 countries was represented. That tender moment was followed by three days of excellent keynote speeches, expert lectures, special sessions, breakout sessions, and opportunities for networking. For me, and I hope for you, it was a feast of learning, sharing, and growing. I returned home invigorated at the prospects for the International Family Nursing Association and ways we, individually and collectively, can practice, learn, and research the art and science of family nursing to transform family health worldwide.

I am deeply grateful to June Horowitz, who served as Conference Committee Co-chair, and each member of the Conference Committee. I appreciate Cristina Garcia-Vivar, Rocío Núñez, and Dean Mercedes Pérez of the University of Navarra, School of Nursing for their warm welcome and help from the local organizing committee. Debbie Zaparoni – what more can I say? She is essential to IFNA. Thank you all for your dedicated efforts in making IFNC13 successful.

As I begin my service as President of IFNA, I assure you that the IFNA Board of Directors and committees will work toward reaching the goals in the recently revised strategic plan. On behalf of the Board of Directors, please know how grateful we are for all you do for IFNA and for families worldwide. We welcome your feedback, suggestions, and involvement on committees. Our hope is that new members as well as those more established in IFNA will find their professional home and family with IFNA. We are stronger together.

Jane Lassetter, PhD, RN, College of Nursing, Brigham Young University

Dr. Jyu-Lin Chen Conducts Research on Childhood Obesity Prevention and Management

Dr. Jyu-Lin Chen, PhD, RN, CNS, FAAN, is an associate professor, Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, USA. Her research focuses on childhood obesity prevention and management. Dr. Chen’s program of research addresses this critical global health threat as it focuses on childhood obesity prevention and healthy lifestyle promotion in children in Asian Pacific regions and Asian immigrants in the U.S. Dr. Chen is particularly interested in developing culturally appropriate and technology-friendly programs for improving active lifestyles and maintaining healthy weight for Chinese children and their families in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as Asian immigrants in the U.S. She has developed several family-focused and primary care-based childhood obesity prevention programs for Asian immigrants in San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S.A.

Currently Dr. Chen is a Fulbright Senior Researcher conducting a cross-trait study on identifying risk factors for childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and develop strategies for family-based prevention programs in Taiwan and Mainland China. Her program of research aims to reduce global health disparities in high risk regions, such as Asian Pacific Rim countries, and in the U.S by demonstrating that family-based nursing research can improve health worldwide.

Dr. Chen currently serves as co-chair of the IFNA Membership Committee and is a member in the IFNA Nominating Committee. For more information contact IFNA member, Jyu-Lin Chen.

Keiko Agawa Advances Knowledge About Care of Japanese Mothers of Children with Medical Dependency

Keiko Agawa, RN, MSN, is a lecturer in Home Care Nursing, School of Nursing, University of Shimane, Japan. She is an editorial member of the Society of Cultural Nursing Studies, as well as a member of the Japan Academy of Home Care, and the Japanese Association for Research in Family Nursing. Her research focuses on home-visiting nursing in the support of mothers of children with high medical dependency. She is now assisting with establishing a communication network among these mothers, considering the specific interests of mothers in order to lessen a mother’s mental/child-rearing stress and reduce causes of child abuse. At the 12th International Family Nursing Conference in 2015 in Odense, Denmark, Ms. Agawa developed a poster presentation on “Beliefs of home visiting nurses who care for mothers of children with high medical dependency”.

For more information, contact IFNA member Keiko Agawa.

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