Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Sep;53(5):568-577.
doi: 10.1111/jnu.12675. Epub 2021 May 30.

Nursing and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Scoping Review

Lorraine Fields  1 , Stephanie Perkiss  2 , Bonnie Amelia Dean  3 , Tracey Moroney  4
Affiliations

Nursing and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Scoping Review

Lorraine Fields et al. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: In 2015, all member states that comprise the United Nations unanimously adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of ambitious and inclusive targets toward global economic, social, and environmental betterment. Nurses have a key role to play in the achievement of the SDGs. The aim of this article was to conduct a scoping review to synthesize the literature related to nursing and the SDGs.

Methods: This scoping review utilized Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage framework. Several electronic databases were searched for literature published from 2015 to 2020 using the key words "nurse OR nurses OR nursing" and "Sustainable Development Goals OR SDGs".

Findings: A total of 447 articles were identified through the databases searches, of which 35 articles were deemed relevant and included for final review and content analysis. Analysis of relevant literature on nursing and the SDGs revealed two distinct, yet connected, perspectives: the nurse and the profession.

Conclusions: Individual nurses may feel disconnected from the SDGs and struggle to relate the goals to their clinical role, calling for an increase in awareness and education on the goals. The wider profession could also increase both research and policy with relation to the SDGs, strengthening nursing's position to have a voice in and contribute towards achievement of the goals.

Clinical relevance: Individual nurses and the wider nursing profession have opportunities to more meaningfully contribute to the SDGs, beginning with an increased awareness through education and a commitment to research and participation in local and global decision making.

Keywords: Nursing; SDGs; United Nations; scoping review; sustainable development.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Ajuebor, O., McCarthy, C., Li, Y., Al-Blooshi, S. M., Makhanya, N., & Cometto, G. (2019). Are the global strategic directions for strengthening nursing and midwifery 2016-2020 being implemented in countries? Findings from a cross-sectional analysis. Human Resources for Health, 17(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-019-0392-2
    1. All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health (AAPG). (2016). Triple impact-How developing nursing will improve health, promote gender equality and support economic growth. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/hrh/com-heeg/triple-impact-appg/en/
    1. Arksey, H., & O'Malley, L. (2005). Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1), 19-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364557032000119616
    1. Benton, D., & Shaffer, F. (2016). How the nursing profession can contribute to Sustainable Development Goals. Nursing Management, 23(7), 29-34. https://doi.org/10.7748/nm.2016.e1534
    1. Benton, D. C., Beasley, C. J., & Ferguson, S. L. (2019). Nursing Now! Learning from the past, positioning for the future. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 24(2). https://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPerio...

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources