- Email: [email protected]
On “Empowering the Girl Child, Improving Global Health”
LETTER 1
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On “Empowering the Girl Child, Improving Global Health”
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Jennifer L. Combs
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Correspondence Jennifer L. Combs, MSN, ARNP, Barry University, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Miami Shores, FL 33161. jennifer.combs@mymail. barry.edu Jennifer L. Combs, MSN, ARNP, is a PhD student in the School of Nursing, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL.
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I am writing in response to an article in JOGNN, “Empowering the Girl Child, Improving Global Health,” by Sandra K. Cesario and Barbara Moran, published in Volume 46, Issue 3. We often forget about the women and children around the world who suffer multiple inequities every day. Cesario and Moran provided an excellent overview of the atrocities that still exist on a global basis. Approximately 100,000 girls and women die globally each year from complications of childbirth and lack of access to contraceptives and basic health care (Cesario & Moran, 2017), a fact that nurses must address.
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Part of the mission of AWHONN is “to improve and promote the health of women and newborns” (AWHONN, 2017). However, many nurses are unaware of the disparities that exist for girls around the world. As a current doctoral nursing student, I am acutely aware of the need for nurses to be engaged in professional organizations, legislation, and political activities.
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From the start of their educational programs, nursing students should be educated about the
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importance of a global perspective of nursing, health care, and population needs. Having such a perspective will help them to be aware of conditions that affect women worldwide and in their own communities. Most of the nurses I engage with locally are shockingly unaware of their county or state infant and maternal mortality rates. Again, I applaud Cesario and Moran for their article and highly recommend that it be mandatory reading for students and all nursing professionals, especially those in maternal/newborn and women’s health specialties. Nurses have powerful voices, but, unfortunately, many nurses do not know how to use their voices for the global good.
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REFERENCES
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Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. (2017). Who we are. Retrieved from http://www.awhonn.org/ page/WhoWeAre/Who-We-Are.htm
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Cesario, S. K., & Moran, B. (2017). Empowering the girl child,
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improving global health. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, &
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Neonatal Nursing, 46(3), e65–e74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
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The author reports no conflict of interest or relevant financial relationships.
http://jognn.org
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ª 2017 AWHONN, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
COR 5.5.0 DTD JOGN264_proof 30 August 2017 8:48 pm ce
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54
6
On “Empowering the Girl Child, Improving Global Health”
7
Jennifer L. Combs
2 3 4 5
55 56 57 58 59 Q1
60
8
61
9
62
10
63
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Correspondence Jennifer L. Combs, MSN, ARNP, Barry University, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Miami Shores, FL 33161. jennifer.combs@mymail. barry.edu Jennifer L. Combs, MSN, ARNP, is a PhD student in the School of Nursing, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL.
22 23
I am writing in response to an article in JOGNN, “Empowering the Girl Child, Improving Global Health,” by Sandra K. Cesario and Barbara Moran, published in Volume 46, Issue 3. We often forget about the women and children around the world who suffer multiple inequities every day. Cesario and Moran provided an excellent overview of the atrocities that still exist on a global basis. Approximately 100,000 girls and women die globally each year from complications of childbirth and lack of access to contraceptives and basic health care (Cesario & Moran, 2017), a fact that nurses must address.
24 25
Part of the mission of AWHONN is “to improve and promote the health of women and newborns” (AWHONN, 2017). However, many nurses are unaware of the disparities that exist for girls around the world. As a current doctoral nursing student, I am acutely aware of the need for nurses to be engaged in professional organizations, legislation, and political activities.
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
From the start of their educational programs, nursing students should be educated about the
34 35
importance of a global perspective of nursing, health care, and population needs. Having such a perspective will help them to be aware of conditions that affect women worldwide and in their own communities. Most of the nurses I engage with locally are shockingly unaware of their county or state infant and maternal mortality rates. Again, I applaud Cesario and Moran for their article and highly recommend that it be mandatory reading for students and all nursing professionals, especially those in maternal/newborn and women’s health specialties. Nurses have powerful voices, but, unfortunately, many nurses do not know how to use their voices for the global good.
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REFERENCES
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Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. (2017). Who we are. Retrieved from http://www.awhonn.org/ page/WhoWeAre/Who-We-Are.htm
83 84
Cesario, S. K., & Moran, B. (2017). Empowering the girl child,
85
improving global health. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, &
86
Neonatal Nursing, 46(3), e65–e74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
87
j.jogn.2016.08.014
88
36
89
37
90
38
91
39
92
40
93
41
94
42
95
43
96
44
97
45
98
46
99
47
100
48
101
49
102
50
103
51
104
52 53
105
The author reports no conflict of interest or relevant financial relationships.
http://jognn.org
106
ª 2017 AWHONN, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
COR 5.5.0 DTD JOGN264_proof 30 August 2017 8:48 pm ce
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