Population and Global

​Health​ Committee

(Formerly named the Community Health & Disaster Preparedness Committee.
​Currently combined with former committee, Global Initiatives in Nursing)

"E.D.G.E. (Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable)"

Luiz Dias
Vice President
Tarrant County College  
​Fort Worth, TX 
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Seasonal Memos​

What is the Role of the
​Population and Global Health Committee?

The committee's role is to disseminate information to the membership about worldwide improvement of health, reduction of disparities, protection against global health threats, and disaster preparedness.

Luiz Dias, Vice President and Chair,
​Population and Global Health Committee
​Fall Memo

Hello NSNA Members!

What a crazy summer this has been. Really, what a crazy year this has been! We are all experiencing virtual classes, virtual clinical days, and virtual meetings.

I hope everyone had the opportunity to virtually attend the 2020 Summer Leadership U conference. If not, there are still options to view this conference. Please visit this link for more information on 2020 Summer Leadership U. 

Coming up at the end of this month is the NSNA Virtual 38th Midyear Conference on Oct 29 – 31. I hope to “see” you there.  Remember that it is easy and fun to attend NSNA’s 38th Midyear Conference virtually! The conference gives you the opportunity to learn about multiple nursing specialties; take a live NCLEX-RN Review; meet NSNA leaders including the Board of Directors, Nominating and Elections Committee, and the chair of the Resolutions Committee; network with students across the USA; gain skills to manage state and local chapters; master test taking skills while learning clinical judgement—and much, much more! If you cannot participate in all the activities, you will have access to all programs, exhibits, etc. by video recording, which you can watch at any time. Exhibits and programs will be accessible for three months post-conference till January 31st, 2021. Please visit this website to register and more information: 38th MidYear Conference.

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Join NSNA for Martin Luther King Day of Service on January 18, 2021 and Remember to "Make it a day on, not a day off". Below are some ideas that we wanted to share on how you can participate on the 18th.
 
  1. Support to local Nursing Homes. Call up your local nursing home or you can check out organizations such as Letters Against Isolation. Sign up to write letters, create cards or send postcards to senior citizens living in elder care facilities who have had to self-isolate during the crisis. You can send as many letters as you'd like, making this an especially great opportunity for families.
  2. Online fundraiser: from a local charity to a national or global cause. Some great places to reach out to include homeless shelters; local health nonprofits; community organizations; social justice & civil rights organizations and more. Check out Charity Navigator for a great resource on mindful giving with ratings on various charities around the country and world. Or visit the American Civil Liberties Union website at aclu.org to learn more about the most pressing civil liberty issues of our time.  
  3. Virtual Mentor. You and your friends can sign-up to provide one-on-one virtual mentorship to aspiring students for both academic and career aspirations. Visit Scholar Match for more information on how to get connected!
  4. COVID-19 Relief Efforts. Contact your local health care facilities to assess their needs for PPE, ventilators, and other medical supplies or go to Health4TheWorld for an organization working to do this globally.
  5. Virtual 5K. Virtual 5k’s are a great fundraising idea because participants can participate from anywhere around the world. But they are also extremely low cost to host since there are no costs for street closures, event permits, security, and all the other costs associated with typical races and fun runs.​

Please submit your National Day of Service events to trisha@nsna.org so we can highlight your event. One lucky person will receive a Convention Registration by participating in the National Day of Service.

What nursing students need to know about the COVID-19 Vaccine

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Perhaps you are not on the front lines today—but you will be in the future. Nursing students have a role to play in both being vaccinated and educating others about the vaccine. You may even be helping to vaccinate the public as a volunteer and for clinical credit.

For every vaccine administered across the country, in most instances, there will be a nurse on the other side of the syringe. "Whether in hospitals, or making logistical decisions behind the scenes, nurses will be the driving force of distribution efforts in the United States, providing immeasurable value and needed perspective from the boardroom to the bedside and everywhere in between," said Dr. Stephen Ferrara, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP, Interim Executive Director, Jonas Nursing & Veterans Healthcare. "Consistently ranked by the public as the most trusted profession in the healthcare landscape, nurses are in a unique position to provide the public with the facts during this time of confusion."

For the public, nurses represent the face of this vaccine. Working together, we have the power to educate our families, patients, peers, colleagues, and friends about vaccination and safety measures.

First step is to learn as much as you can about the vaccine so that you are ready to answer questions.  One target audience for vaccine education is your fellow college students. Get your chapter involved. Look at these trusted resources to begin learning more.

For more information click here.

Upcoming Population and Global Health Committee
​Quarterly Awards

  • 2nd quarter (Dec-Feb): Advocacy to Educate about Healthy Climate and Environmental Health Projects
    Submit via JotForm (Opens in Feb) and extra bonus if a poster is created for the 69th Annual Convention
  • 3rd quarter (March-May): Mental Health Education in Uncertain Times Projects  
  • 4th Quarter (June-August): Addressing Health Disparities and Inequalities Projects

"E.D.G.E." Population and Global Health Committee with Luiz Dias

Luiz Dias, NSNA 2020-2021 Vice President and Chair, Population and Global Health Committee speaks on Population and Global Health during the 2020 Summer Leadership U Conference.

Climate Action

Join the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and Climate for Health for a pre-conference event at Sigma's Creating Healthy Work Environments conference on February 18th, 2021 9:00am‑1:00 p.m. (0900-1300) Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5). You can register and learn more here! 
NSNA continues to focus on climate actions by providing education, opportunities for individual involvement, and highlighting many issues that affect population health, including communicable and non-communicable diseases, climate change, natural disasters, socio-economic inequalities, and everything in between. These factors impact health and our healthcare.

As NSNA members and future nurses, you can learn about how you can prevent certain issues and how to protect our patients; you can even raise awareness among patients and your communities. NSNA wants to connect you with Climate for Health (CfH) and Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) so you can understand the relationship between human health and environments in which we live, learn, work, and play.

NSNA continues to stay focused on raising awareness on several of the resolutions passed by the House of Delegates over the last two years.
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These resolutions include:
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IN SUPPORT OF INCREASING AWARENESS OF PROPER DISPOSAL OF HOME-GENERATED PHARMACEUTICAL AND SHARPS WASTE

IN SUPPORT OF INCREASING AWARENESS OF THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON MENTAL HEALTH

IN SUPPORT OF IMPROVING MEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT DUE TO CONNECTIONS BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL AND PERSONAL HEALTH
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Climate change is affecting our health now, and as nursing students you can be a leader in climate solutions and NSNA will continue to provide you the resources and support through CfH and ANHE.
Nurses, who are one of the most trusted sources of information by the public, must be in a position to both respond to questions about the environment and its relationship to health with credible, evidence-based information, as well as provide leadership in making the necessary changes in our policies and practices. To that end we must prepare nurses to be a cut above the average citizen with regard to their knowledge of environmental health issues. 

The Mission of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE): Promoting healthy people and healthy environments by educating and leading the nursing profession, advancing research, incorporating evidence-based practice, and influencing policy. 
Climate for Health is a national initiative led by a diverse network of health leaders from across the health sector representing key health care, public health, clinical, and medical institutions and associations.  Founded by ecoAmerica, Climate for Health offers tools, resources, and communications to demonstrate visible climate leadership, inspiring and empowering health leaders to speak about, act on and advocate for climate solutions. Climate for Health and its partners agree to this Vision, Principles and Commitment Statement for climate solutions, action, and advocacy. 

Listen to your fellow NSNA Members and a past NSNA Board Member on the 
ANHE Student Committee Podcast!

ANHE launched the inaugural Student Nurse Committee in 2020 with a group of 8 pre-licensure student nurses from across the United States. This year, the student-driven and led group had the opportunity to explore their passion around environmental health, to engage in peer learning and sharing, and to develop educational materials geared to nurses, nursing students, and community members around environmental health. As part of their participation in the committee, the student nurses worked on projects focused on composting and environmental injustices. The 2020 student nurse members will rotate off the committee and we will be starting with a brand new group in 2021!

Nursing Collaborative on Climate Change and Health

NSNA has joined the Nursing Collaborative on Climate Change and Health. Goals include: Elevate climate change as a visible health priority: the Collaborative will make the connection between climate and human health and prioritize the need to advance acclimate protective strategies to protect health a core part of our mission.
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Create a climate literate nursing community: the Collaborative will act as a resource in promoting the education and ability of nurses to deliver effective evidence-based climate and health communication by providing guides and guidance and incorporating climate in all our gatherings and resources.
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Read more . . .

Nursing Collaborative on Climate Change and Health Resources:

Nurses Drawdown
​A project of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and Project Drawdown

At the heart of Nursing is the understanding that optimal health requires good nutrition, adequate mobility, a healthy environment, and social support. Together, nurses around the globe can help to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and create a healthier future for humans and the rest of the planet. 
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Through our commitment to the evidence-based Nurses Drawdown actions, nurses will improve the health of individuals and communities, while also taking steps to heal the planet. We together have the power to significantly impact climate change. Join Us.
 
For more information on Nurses Drawdown visit: https://www.nursesdrawdown.org/

Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change

The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change is an international research collaboration that monitors and reports annually on the relationship between health and climate, and its implications for national governments. It was launched following the 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change, which concluded that unmitigated climate change would undermine 50 years of public health gains, but that responding to climate change could represent “the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century.”

Each year, a special companion U.S. Brief is released alongside the global report that aims to draw out the most nationally relevant findings to highlight the key threats and opportunities climate change poses for health in the United States. One intended audience for the Brief is U.S. policymakers, so it includes a list of policy recommendations that aim to protect human health from the climate crisis. The Brief is developed in partnership with the American Public Health Association and a working group of experts in the climate and health field.

This year’s Lancet Countdown global report and the U.S. Brief will be publicly released on November 13, 2019 at 6:30 PM EST (11:30 PM GMT). In celebration of the release, join us at the launch event on November 18, 2019 at the Russell Senate Office Building, Kennedy Caucus Room in Washington, D.C. starting at 10:00 AM EST. 
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The public launch aims to provide a critical platform for key medical professionals, public health experts, researchers and policymakers to discuss national, state, and local policies that can reduce the impacts of climate change on the health of people living in the U.S. Keynote speakers include 19th Surgeon General of the U.S., Dr. Vivek Murthy, and Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, ranking member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee along with a presentation by authors of the Lancet Countdown Global Report and U.S. Brief. For more details about the launch event and this year’s report, check out www.lancetcountdownus.org.

A Hot Topic: Climate and Nursing
Dr. Barbara Sattler, Professor
University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Plenary Session - April 6, 2018
66th Annual Convention - Nashville, Tennessee

The Future of Nursing 2020-2030

The National Academies of Sciences - Engineering - Medicine
The Future of Nursing 2020-2030 Philadelphia Town Hall - University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
July 24, 2019

​Invited Comments Presented by:
Elise Krikorian, Director and Chair, Population and Global Health Committee, National Student Nurses Association; Junior Nursing Student, Penn State University
Please see below to read Elise Krikorian's write-up of this opportunity. 

“Over this summer, I was given the opportunity to represent the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) at the Future of Nursing Town Hall Event in Philadelphia and participate in NSNA’s Leadership Conference. Being able to speak with many nursing leaders and connect with students all over the country, I was once again inspired by the impact nurses can have. Read More
Submit Your International Experiences

​​Have you traveled overseas, experienced the need for cultural competence, or encountered global health issues?  The Population and Global Health Committee is looking for students with personal experiences to feature on our web page!  Please email nsna@nsna.org attn: Sarah with your topic for approval.

Check out the International Council of Nurses

​The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of 135 national nursing associations representing millions of nurses worldwide.  Operated  by nurses and leading  nursing internationally, ICN works to ensure quality nursing care for all and sound health policies globally.  Connect with nurses  around the globe, expand your horizons and start or continue a discussion on issues of interest to nursing students.

Join the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Student Network
Connect with nursing students from around the globe on the ICN Student Network! Expand your horizons and start or continue a discussion on issues of interest to nursing students. 

​Imprint Articles:
  • ​​​​​Providing Care and Health Education in Eleuthera
  • Global Initiatives in Nursing
  • Mission: A Summer in India

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