Siri Tønnessen1, Karin Christiansen2, Ingibjörg Hjaltadóttir3, Helena Leino-Kilpi4,5, Philomena Anne Scott6, Riitta Suhonen4,7, Joakim Öhlén8,9, Kristin Halvorsen10. 1. Department of Nursing and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South-Eastern Norway, Norway. 2. Faculty of Health, Centre for Health and Welfare Technology, VIA University College, Aarhus, Denmark. 3. Faculty of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland. 4. Department of Nursing Science, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. 5. Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland. 6. Equality and Diversity, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland. 7. Welfare Division, University Hospital of Turku, Turku, Finland. 8. Institute of Health and Care Sciences, University of Gothenburg Centre for Person-Centred Care (GPCC), Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. 9. Palliative Centre, Sahlgrenska University Hospital Västra Götaland Region, Gothenburg, Sweden. 10. Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Nursing and Health Promotion, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.
Abstract
AIM: To explore the visibility of nursing in policy documents concerning health care priorities in the Nordic countries. BACKGROUND: Nurses at all levels in health care organisations set priorities on a daily basis. Such prioritization entails allocation of scarce public resources with implications for patients, nurses and society. Although prioritization in health care has been on the political agenda for many years, prioritization in nursing seems to be obscure in policy documents. METHODOLOGY: Each author searched for relevant documents from their own country. Text analyses were conducted of the included documents concerning nursing visibility. RESULTS: All the Nordic countries have published documents articulating values and criteria relating to health care priorities. Nursing is seldom explicitly mentioned but rather is included and implicit in discussions of health care prioritization in general. CONCLUSION: There is a need to make priorities in nursing visible to prevent missed nursing care and ensure fair allocation of limited resources. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: To highlight nursing priorities, we suggest that the fundamental need for nursing care and what this implies for patient care in different organisational settings be clarified and that policymakers explicitly include this information in national policy documents.
AIM: To explore the visibility of nursing in policy documents concerning health care priorities in the Nordic countries. BACKGROUND: Nurses at all levels in health care organisations set priorities on a daily basis. Such prioritization entails allocation of scarce public resources with implications for patients, nurses and society. Although prioritization in health care has been on the political agenda for many years, prioritization in nursing seems to be obscure in policy documents. METHODOLOGY: Each author searched for relevant documents from their own country. Text analyses were conducted of the included documents concerning nursing visibility. RESULTS: All the Nordic countries have published documents articulating values and criteria relating to health care priorities. Nursing is seldom explicitly mentioned but rather is included and implicit in discussions of health care prioritization in general. CONCLUSION: There is a need to make priorities in nursing visible to prevent missed nursing care and ensure fair allocation of limited resources. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: To highlight nursing priorities, we suggest that the fundamental need for nursing care and what this implies for patient care in different organisational settings be clarified and that policymakers explicitly include this information in national policy documents.