WHO Center for the International Nursing Development of Advanced Practice

The purposes of the Center

To strengthen the human resources research and planning capacity among leading nursing institutions in several countries
To strengthen the systems to train, precept, and supervise nurses who are HIV primary care providers in heavily affected countries
To assist in strengthening the training of nurses in leading schools in countries affected by conflict or disasters
To strengthen emergency preparedness among key groups and train nursing leaders to integrate emergency preparedness into curricula and national plans.
Through the above activities, to facilitate the definition and articulation of advanced practice activities in nursing, and to develop opportunities for collaboration to strengthen post-basic levels of nursing practice unique to each country.

Relevant activities

Development of research and capacity projects in priority countries, including Colombia, Haiti, and Nicaragua in order to support the development of more effective clinical roles for nurses in public hospitals and rural ambulatory care services.
Develoment of training and mentoring systems for nurses and midwives in South Africa and Rwanda who are or will become HIV providers according to national plans.
Supporting nurses in post-conflict or disaster situations in Aceh, Indonesia, Iraq, Sudan, Liberia and Afghanistan.
Assist in integration of emergency preparedness into the curriculums in leading schools of nursing in countries facing repeated disasters, beginning with curricular modules being developed in Jordan for regional dissemination.

Highlights of current activities

Jennifer Dohrn, DNP is expanding the nursing and midwifery curricula with HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in the mothers2mothers program while working at the University of Fort Hare, in Fort Hare, Eastern Cape.
Participation with the Earth Institute in development of an initiative in Haiti focused on improving conditions of the human and physical environment between cycles of natural disasters in order to create conditions for lessening the effect of these disasters and increasing the development potential for the country.
With the School of Public Health, evaluation of the tsunami recovery programs of UNICEF in Aceh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives
With Karolinska Institutet Sweden improving the quality of emergency humanitarian assessments carried out by UN agencies and others in the earthquake in Kashmir and the cyclone in Myanmar
With the World Health Organization, development of a white paper orienting activities to reduce the incidence and increase effective management of select non-communicable diseases in less developed countries.

How to Contact the Center:

Richard Garfield, DrPH
Center Director
Henrik H. Bendixen Clinical Professor of International Nursing
Columbia University School of Nursing
630 West 168 St., Box 6
New York, NY 10032
email: rmg3@columbia.edu

Sarah Sheets Cook, DNP
Administrative Director
Vice Dean
Dorothy M. Rogers Professor of Clinical Nursing
Columbia University School of Nursing
630 West 168 St., Box 6
New York, NY 10032
email: ssc3@columbia.edu