Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing (GAPFON) and Global Health

In November 2013, the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), announced the creation of the Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing (GAPFON) to establish a voice and vision for the future of nursing and midwifery that will advance global health. The composition of the panel, first convened in March 2014, was purposeful in nature to ensure that the voices at the table represented individual expertise and experience from diverse backgrounds. Key issues identified at this inaugural meeting included the need for reform, advocacy, and innovations in leadership, policy, practice, education, and work environments. While the specific context through which these efforts will be addressed is nursing and midwifery, recognition of the interprofessional and collaborative nature of the world's healthcare needs and systems was kept at the forefront of all discussions. GAPFON intends to demonstrate how nursing and midwifery can contribute to strengthening health systems and attaining global health goals through the exchange of ideas and experiences across the different regions of the world. GAPFON is designed to be a catalyst to stimulate partnerships and collaborations to advance global health outcomes, and is a vehicle for thought leaders to share information, develop and influence policy, and advance interprofessional efforts toward those goals. Health professions from across disciplines have helped direct, define, and advance public health—and the role of health practitioners within public health—around the world for decades, establishing the current model for global health. As a result, health promotion policies and processes have been established, diseases have been mitigated, access to care has been facilitated, and a notion of “shared responsibility” for the world's health has been realized. Nursing and midwifery have played a key role in the innovation and cohesion required to establish, sustain, and implement this model of global health. As healthcare demands predicate the need for enhanced and/or new models of global health, nurses, midwives, and our healthcare colleagues from all professions need to bring a clear voice and vision for the future of global health. This is especially important as we address the United Nation's Millennial Development Goals (MDGs; United Nations, 2014), and also support the emerging Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development, 2014) as part of the post-2015 agenda. As with other healthcare professionals, nurses believe in and support the idea that an investment in health results in an enormous payoff, and that in our collective lifetimes, a grand convergence in health is within reach (Jamison et al., 2013). Additionally, globalization, in all its facets—economic, technological, and cultural—has created a world market for the nursing workforce (Shaffer, 2014). Opportunities continue to grow for nurses and midwives to have a strong role in shaping health at the policy and practice levels, even as challenges present themselves: demand for nurses exceeds supply; nursing and midwifery education and regulation differs across borders; and task shifting and sharing are increasing as some traditional nursing work is being undertaken by healthcare generalists that are less costly to employ. GAPFON recognizes all the possibilities for nursing to have an inclusive voice worldwide, to overcome barriers, and to help create a new narrative for nursing and a model for global health. Each meeting will convene thought and action leaders from a variety of disciplines, including ministers of health, representatives from key nursing and midwifery associations, educational institutions, economists, regulatory bodies, other health professionals or health industries, pharmaceutical companies, and governmental leaders that are influential in global health. Limited space will be available for observers to register and attend the regional meetings as well. This interdisciplinary approach reflects and recognizes a growing interdependence in all health matters, and the expansion of global health as a field of inquiry (International Council of Nurses, 2014). Strategic action plans with measurable outcomes will be developed for each recommendation. Various organizations and groups with missions that relate to these recommendations will be asked to form expert panels to create the action plans with outcomes to measure impact. Regional reports and comprehensive documents addressing GAPFON findings, as well as the press release and list of panel members, are available on www.gapfon.org, as well as additional information and details on the regional meetings. What are the intended outcomes of GAPFON and what will success look like? While some of these conversations have just begun, making the findings and recommendations from regional meetings available to managers, educators, and practitioners for point-of-care implementation will be a significant part of the success picture. As that implementation occurs, STTI will monitor regional and global data regarding communicable diseases, NCDs, population-based health and wellness, enactment of legislation and regulations that promote the nursing and midwifery professions, and improvement in occupational and environmental health delivery settings. As GAPFON moves forward, we welcome stakeholders from around the world—individuals, organizations, and sponsors—to engage in implementation of the strategic actions as they are identified through the upcoming regional meetings. Working together globally, we can make a difference, changing the world from policy to point of care.