Closing the gap increasing access and equity

E-books

65 p.

<div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Despite major achievements in the realisation of the Millennium Development </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Goals, there are still major gaps in the health status and life expectancy between </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">high, middle and low income countries, between men and women and between rural </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">and urban residents. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The ability to access health services is key to improving the health, well-being and </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">life expectancy of all. Yet, achieving this fundamental requirement remains limited </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">by cost, language, proximity, policies and practices, as well as many other factors. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">As the principal and, in some cases, the only group of health professionals providing </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">primary health care in many of the most challenging settings, nurses are essential to </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">improving equity and access to health care and adding quality to the outcome of </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">care. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">This 2011 IND kit strengthens our understanding of access and equity and the effect </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">of inequality on health. It outlines the barriers that exist and how we can increase </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">access and equity. It also shines a light on the importance of the social </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">determinants of health, demonstrating how nurses can address these and in so </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">doing improve access and ensure equity in the care provided. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The International Council of Nurses believes that nurses have an important role in </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">achieving health equity and developing a clear understanding of how the health </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">sector can act to reduce health inequities. </span></div><div><br /></div>