scholarly journals Creating the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health: theoretical reflections to follow in Florence Nightingale’s footsteps

Author(s):  
Deva-Marie Beck

Objective: this paper articulates how three Nightingale scholars applied their theoretical reflections to Florence Nightingale’s farreaching anticipation of the year 1999 and to her comprehensive definition of “Health” derived from her 1893 essay “Sick-nursing and Health-nursing.” Method: this is a historical narrative paper. With intentions to explore how Nightingale’s insights might inform today’s nursing culture and enhance nursing practice, these scholars joined a team of civil society activists to craft the Nightingale Declaration for A Healthy World as the founding credo of the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health. To follow in Nightingale’s footsteps for more than two decades, these scholars since developed methods to increase public awareness of global health concerns and to engage today’s nurses and concerned citizens in this public advocacy. Results: project demonstration results include specific advocacy for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals — “Global Goals” targeted to achieve universal outcomes specific to “Health” and across the wider scope of social and environmental health determinants — all anticipated by Nightingale throughout her 40-year career. Conclusion: given today’s severe global health concerns, these scholars’ theoretical reflections identify challenges to contemporary nursing culture — calling for methods developed to strengthen nursing’s voice in the global public arena.

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 635-645
Author(s):  
Jens Byskov ◽  
Stephen Maluka ◽  
Bruno Marchal ◽  
Elizabeth H Shayo ◽  
Astrid Blystad ◽  
...  

Abstract Priority setting within health systems has not led to accountable, fair and sustainable solutions to improving population health. Providers, users and other stakeholders each have their own health and service priorities based on selected evidence, own values, expertise and preferences. Based on a historical account, this article analyses if contemporary health systems are appropriate to optimize population health within the framework of cross cutting targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We applied a scoping review approach to identify and review literature of scientific databases and other programmatic web and library-based documents on historical and contemporary health systems policies and strategies at the global level. Early literature supported the 1977 launching of the global target of Health for All by the year 2000. Reviewed literature was used to provide a historical overview of systems components of global health strategies through describing the conceptualizations of health determinants, user involvement and mechanisms of priority setting over time, and analysing the importance of historical developments on barriers and opportunities to accomplish the SDGs. Definitions, scope and application of health systems-associated priority setting fluctuated and main health determinants and user influence on global health systems and priority setting remained limited. In exploring reasons for the identified lack of SDG-associated health systems and priority setting processes, we discuss issues of accountability, vested interests, ethics and democratic legitimacy as conditional for future sustainability of population health. To accomplish the SDGs health systems must engage beyond their own sector boundary. New approaches to Health in All Policies and One Health may be conducive for scaling up more democratic and inclusive priority setting processes based on proper process guidelines from successful pilots. Sustainable development depends on population preferences supported by technical and managerial expertise.


Author(s):  
Andrew Harmer ◽  
Jonathan Kennedy

This chapter explores the relationship between international development and global health. Contrary to the view that development implies ‘good change’, this chapter argues that the discourse of development masks the destructive and exploitative practices of wealthy countries at the expense of poorer ones. These practices, and the unregulated capitalist economic system that they are part of, have created massive inequalities between and within countries, and potentially catastrophic climate change. Both of these outcomes are detrimental to global health and the millennium development goals and sustainable development goals do not challenge these dynamics. While the Sustainable Development Goals acknowledge that inequality and climate change are serious threats to the future of humanity, they fail to address the economic system that created them. Notwithstanding, it is possible that the enormity and proximity of the threat posed by inequality and global warming will energise a counter movement to create what Kate Raworth terms ‘an ecologically safe and socially just space’ for the global population while there is still time.


AI and Ethics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimee van Wynsberghe

AbstractWhile there is a growing effort towards AI for Sustainability (e.g. towards the sustainable development goals) it is time to move beyond that and to address the sustainability of developing and using AI systems. In this paper I propose a definition of Sustainable AI; Sustainable AI is a movement to foster change in the entire lifecycle of AI products (i.e. idea generation, training, re-tuning, implementation, governance) towards greater ecological integrity and social justice. As such, Sustainable AI is focused on more than AI applications; rather, it addresses the whole sociotechnical system of AI. I have suggested here that Sustainable AI is not about how to sustain the development of AI per say but it is about how to develop AI that is compatible with sustaining environmental resources for current and future generations; economic models for societies; and societal values that are fundamental to a given society. I have articulated that the phrase Sustainable AI be understood as having two branches; AI for sustainability and sustainability of AI (e.g. reduction of carbon emissions and computing power). I propose that Sustainable AI take sustainable development at the core of its definition with three accompanying tensions between AI innovation and equitable resource distribution; inter and intra-generational justice; and, between environment, society, and economy. This paper is not meant to engage with each of the three pillars of sustainability (i.e. social, economic, environment), and as such the pillars of sustainable AI. Rather, this paper is meant to inspire the reader, the policy maker, the AI ethicist, the AI developer to connect with the environment—to remember that there are environmental costs to AI. Further, to direct funding towards sustainable methods of AI.


2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 793-795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibylle L Herzig Van Wees ◽  
Mats Målqvist ◽  
Rachel Irwin

The Swedish Global Health Research Conference held in Stockholm, 18–19 April 2018, convened researchers from across Sweden’s universities to foster collaboration and new research. In response to the theme of the conference, How can Sweden contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals? From research to action, many of the plenary and keynote speakers highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary research and teaching. This commentary draws upon a workshop discussing interdisciplinarity, which took place at the conference. Participants included senior professors, lecturers, students and collaborators from the private sector and civil society and we discussed the conceptual and structural challenges that prevent engagement in interdisciplinary research. Although the workshop focused on the Swedish context, issues will be familiar to researchers working outside of Sweden. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals highlight the grand challenges for global society and are intertwined, with progress in one affecting progress in all others. With this starting point, we argue that interdisciplinary research is the way to achieve them. Accordingly, we need to overcome the conceptual and structural challenges that can hinder it. We therefore argue for a paradigm shift of how we value knowledge. We also call for fundamental changes in external and internal (university-level) funding structures, and for the strengthening of interdisciplinary global health teaching.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i32-i35
Author(s):  
Dineke Zeegers Paget ◽  
David Patterson

Abstract In this article, we examine the essential role of law in achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Following the World Health Organization’s broad definition of health, all SDGs can be seen to impact on human health and hence the health goal (SDG3) should be right at the centre of the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We note recent research on the contribution of law, including international human rights law, to achieving health for all and discuss the role of law in addressing seven emerging health challenges. Law can and should play an important role in achieving all health-related SDGs, by respecting, protecting and fulfilling the right to health, ensuring that no one is left behind.


2018 ◽  
Vol 170 ◽  
pp. 04006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anatoly Lepeshev ◽  
Vasiliy Kuimov ◽  
Olesya Sidorkina ◽  
Anatoliy Kozlov ◽  
Tatyana Pogrebnaya

The relevance of article is caused by increasing speed of new technique and technologies emergence upon transition to the sixth wave of Municipal Facilities and Urban Development. It leads to the fast obsolescence of the engineering decisions ensuring technique and technologies ecological safety. New, earlier unknown types of pollution which influence on live organisms appear. For achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals it is necessary to solve essentially new task: to create future engineers’ ability to find in due time solutions of newly created technologies ecological safety problems. Research objective: Definition of the cognitive technologies entering a kernel of the sixth wave innovation and this wave NBIC-convergence opportunities to form future engineersЭ abilities to stably solve ecological safety problems Importance of a research: The research showed a possibility of effective TRIZ application for forecasting and the preliminary solution of again arising environmental problems and also a possibility of effective TRIZ studying at schools, colleges, universities without additional excessive number of class periods expenses. Results of a research can significantly promote achievement of a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals connected with environment protection.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. e035789
Author(s):  
Justine H Zhang ◽  
Jacqueline Ramke ◽  
Nyawira Mwangi ◽  
João Furtado ◽  
Sumrana Yasmin ◽  
...  

IntroductionIn 2015, most governments of the world committed to achieving 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) by the year 2030. Efforts to improve eye health contribute to the advancement of several SDGs, including those not exclusively health-related. This scoping review will summarise the nature and extent of the published literature that demonstrates a link between improved eye health and advancement of the SDGs.Methods and analysisSearches will be conducted in MEDLINE, Embase and Global Health for published, peer-reviewed manuscripts, with no time period, language or geographic limits. All intervention and observational studies will be included if they report a link between a change in eye health and (1) an outcome related to one of the SDGs or (2) an element on a pathway between eye health and an SDG (eg, productivity). Two investigators will independently screen titles and abstracts, followed by full-text screening of potentially relevant articles. Reference lists of all included articles will be examined to identify further potentially relevant studies. Conflicts between the two independent investigators will be discussed and resolved with a third investigator. For included articles, data regarding publication characteristics, study details and SDG-related outcomes will be extracted. Results will be synthesised by mapping the extracted data to a logic model, which will be refined through an iterative process during data synthesis.Ethics and disseminationAs this scoping review will only include published data, ethics approval will not be sought. The findings of the review will be published in an open-access, peer-reviewed journal. A summary of the results will be developed for website posting, stakeholder meetings and inclusion in the ongoing Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health.


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