International regulation today

How much, what kind and who should control professional regulation and the questions being debated in many countries. To understand the nature, implications and impact of the regulatory processes used in their country, nurses must assist in: 1) developing the regulatory controls that affect professional education, practice and research; and 2) ensuring that nursing is a major player in the administrative and monitoring processes used to control nursing.

Worldwide survey of nursing issues

Taking the international nursing pulse rate via questionnaire has been a biennial task at ICN since 1991. By learning about its members' more pressing concerns, ICN can better respond to their needs in way of specific programmes, documentation, workshops or even a special task force. Although efforts have been made to increase the response rate, it continues to be under half of total ICN members (112 in 1994). Below, the responses from 46 members, or 43% of membership, representing seven regions worldwide, regarding nursing issues, priorities and activities during the 1993-94 period.

Mental health nursing: a global perspective

This paper is based on a presentation by Dr Oguisso to the First Hamburg World Forum on Mental Health, 11 June 1994, for the Standing Committee of Presidents of International Non-Governmental Organizations Concerned with Mental Health Issues. Over recent years, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has been concerned that health providers are sometimes not adequately prepared to give quality care and that resources are often well below those targeted for other sectors of the health care system. In 1991 the ICN chose 'Mental Health--Nurses in Action' as the theme for International Nurses Day on 12 May. With the help of the ICN-provided educational kits, national nurses' associations updated nurses on the problems and informed the public that nurses as a group can provide many of the mental health services to people and answer their families needs.

Strategy for controlling rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease, with emphasis on primary prevention: memorandum from a joint WHO/ISFC meeting

This Memorandum summarizes the report of a meeting held in Geneva on 7-9 September 1994. Experts and representatives from different countries and regions, as well as WHO, the International Society and Federation of Cardiology, UNESCO, and the International Council of Nurses evaluated the experience in controlling rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease (RF/RHD) and provided an update on the essential components of RF/RHD prevention, including new areas for research in primary prevention. The meeting's recommendations should be applicable in all countries where RF/RHD is a health problem.