ABSTRACT
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been committed to educating diverse and underserved populations since their inception. Their commitments for over 100â¯years have resulted in increased diversity in many careers, but specifically in the field of nursing. HBCU nursing schools have been producing diverse nurses since shortly after the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in 1863, and today HBCUs continue to educate, motivate, and develop nurses at every level, including associate, baccalaureate, master, and doctorate. With universal consensus on the need for a diverse and highly functional nursing workforce, both the historic and potential future impact and contributions of HBCUs should not be ignored. HBCU schools of nursing continue to be committed to producing baccalaureate nurses prepared to advance and lead health care in a variety of settings, from a variety of backgrounds. Their commitments to first-generation college students and those from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds, continue to be a hallmark characteristic of HBCUs, therefore, clearly pointing to their paramount role in producing the future of healthcare.
Subject(s)
Black or African American/statistics & numerical data , Education, Nursing/statistics & numerical data , Students, Nursing/statistics & numerical data , Cultural Diversity , Humans , Minority Groups/statistics & numerical data , Socioeconomic Factors , Students, Nursing/psychology , UniversitiesSubject(s)
Awareness , Contraception/methods , Fertility , Natural Family Planning Methods , Breast Feeding , Contraceptive Agents , Female , Humans , Lactation , Menstrual Cycle , OvulationABSTRACT
The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) increases exclusive breastfeeding. Breastfeeding protects against obesity and diabetes, conditions to which American Indians and Alaska Natives are particularly prone. As part of the First Lady'sLet's Move! in Indian Countryinitiative, the US Department of Health and Human Services' Indian Health Service (IHS) began implementing the BFHI in 2011. The IHS administers 13 US birthing hospitals. There are 5 tribally administered hospitals in the lower 48 states that receive IHS funding, and the IHS encouraged them to seek Baby-Friendly designation also. In the 13 federally administered hospitals, the IHS implemented a Baby-Friendly infant feeding policy, extensive clinician training, and Baby-Friendly compatible medical records. All hospitals also became compliant with the World Health Organization's International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes. Strategies and solutions were shared systemwide via webinars and conference calls. Quality improvement methods, technical assistance, and site visits assisted with the implementation process. Between 2011 and December 2014, 100% (13 of 13) of IHS federally administered hospitals gained Baby-Friendly designation. The first Baby-Friendly hospitals in Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota were all IHS sites; 6% of all US Baby-Friendly hospitals are currently IHS hospitals. One tribal site has also been Baby-Friendly designated and 3 of the 5 remaining tribally administered hospitals in the lower 48 states are pursuing Baby-Friendly status. Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative implementation systemwide is possible in a US government agency serving a high-risk, underprivileged population. Other systems looking to implement the BFHI can learn from the IHS model.
