Canadian Journal of Nursing Research

The Canadian Nurses Association has a long-standing history of strengthening the nursing profession and the health system, supporting professional practice, and advocating for healthy public policy at the local, national, and global level. Historical writings have typically focused on the significant milestones achieved throughout the past century, and the various social, political, and economic contexts that have shaped the evolution of the association. While historical sources illustrate an organization with a strong track record of policy advocacy leadership and presence, there is little literature that has examined how the association’s policy advocacy agenda has evolved overtime. Using Shamian’s emerging “Bubble” Theory and Spheres of Policy Influence Model as an analytical framework, the authors use historical archives and documents to examine the internal and external drivers that have shaped the association’s policy advocacy agenda over the past century and conclude that the Canadian Nurses Association has established itself as a credible leader in shaping not only nursing but also health-care and public policy at the local, national, and global level.

Nursing organizations across Canada play a significant role in influencing and shaping public policy. 2020, the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, is an opportune time not only to support nurses in building policy leadership but also to explore opportunities to better understand and strengthen the policy advocacy work of nursing organizations. Given various social, political, and economic forces, the nature of organized nursing across Canada is changing significantly. We draw on recent key national and global events including our systematic inquiry into Canada’s 2019 federal election, the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, and the Coronavirus pandemic to examine how Canadian nursing organizations respond in highly complex and evolving contexts. We use our observations to offer a vision and chart a research agenda for the advancement of nursing organizations’ influence on health systems and policy. Specifically, we focus on three key areas including examining nursing organizations’ policy agendas and spheres of influence; nursing organizations’ decision-making around policy advocacy tactics and engagement approaches; and the impact of policy advocacy coalitions and networks on nursing organizations’ influence.

Midwives are being called to serve a growing population of vulnerable women, those with substance use disorders (SUDs). Increasing numbers of women across the lifespan are being diagnosed with SUDs. In addition, women with SUDs are experiencing very unique and distinct differences in stigma related to their substance use. This stigma is coming from varied sources and through many different forms including mislabeling, misinformation, the media, and a devalued maternal/child relationship. Mothers frequently experience different types of adverse health encounters during the perinatal and postpartum period that also contribute to stigma. Midwives are positioned to provide woman-centered care in a variety of practice settings as integral members of interprofessional teams. Midwives can decrease the stigma women with SUDs are experiencing while improving the health of women, mothers, and families worldwide.

Precision health is the integration of personal genomic data with biological, environmental, behavioral, and other information relevant to the care of a patient. Genetics and genomics are essential components of precision health. Genetics is the study of the effects of individual genes, and genomics is the study of all the components of the genome and interactions between genes, environmental factors, and other psychosocial and cultural factors. Knowledge about the role of genetics and genomics on health outcomes has increased substantially since the completion of the human genome project in 2003. Insights about genetics and genomics obtained from bench science are now having positive clinical implications on patient health outcomes. Nurses have the potential to make distinct contributions to precision health due to their unique role in the health care system. In this article, we discuss gaps in the development of precision health in nursing and how nursing can expand the definition of precision health to actualize its potential. Precision health plays a role in nursing practice. Understanding this connection positions nurses to incorporate genetic and genomic knowledge into their nursing practice.

Nursing knowledge and innovations are disseminated primarily through peer-reviewed publications in scholarly journals. At the present time, there are approximately 250 journals in the profession of nursing, representing all specialties and an international, global focus. Of this group, 25 have been honored by induction into the Nursing Journal Hall of Fame, which was established by the International Academy of Nursing Editors in 2018. This article introduces the Hall of Fame and the journals that have been inducted to date. Hall of Fame journals have a sustained publication history of 50 years or more and represent excellence in nursing through the articles published and journal editorial leadership. Studying the history of this group of journals reveals trends within different specialties as well as the profession of nursing overall. For many of the journals, there were particular editors who were visionary and transformative. Knowing their stories is important for the historical record of nursing publication. Celebrating nursing journal history through the Hall of Fame and understanding the unique leadership role of nursing editors, past and present, is an important and fitting tribute to nursing knowledge during the Year of the Nurse and Nurse Midwife in 2020.

The editorial will introduce a special section on nurses’ mental health and well-being that will showcase results from a groundbreaking pan-Canadian study of nurses’ occupational stress. The article series highlights research efforts toward better supporting nurses’ mental health. In this editorial, we discuss the importance of this research in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. We review the current stressors faced by nurses and anticipate how nurses’ mental health and well-being will be impacted by COVID-19.