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
Review
. 2024 Dec;11(12):e70079.
doi: 10.1002/nop2.70079.

A Critical Need for Advanced Practice Nurse Education in Sub-Saharan Africa and Lessons Learned From the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Discursive Review

Jacqueline Itambo  1   2 , Brenda Owusu  3 , Danielle McCamey  1 , Diana-Lyn Baptiste  1
Affiliations
Review

A Critical Need for Advanced Practice Nurse Education in Sub-Saharan Africa and Lessons Learned From the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Discursive Review

Jacqueline Itambo et al. Nurs Open. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Aim: To discuss the need to expand advanced practice nurse education in Sub-Saharan Africa as a strategic response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: Discursive paper.

Method: Searching international literature in PubMed, CINAHL and Google Scholar databases, we explored the impact of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa and the advanced practice nurse role and education in the pandemic response.

Discussion: The COVID-19 pandemic served as a barrier to healthcare access and disrupted routine immunizations and care, reduced facility-based healthcare services, increased disease burden and mortality, strain and is expected to worsen the healthcare workforce shortage in Sub-Saharan Africa. The COVID-19 pandemic has further emphasised the necessity to strengthen advanced practice nurse education in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Conclusion: This discursive paper underscores the critical role of advanced practice nurse education in Sub-Saharan Africa as a proactive strategy to strengthen the healthcare workforce and systems. The lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the urgency to invest in advanced practice nurse education and training programmes in the region.

Patient or public contribution: There was no patient or public involvement in the design or drafting of this discursive paper. The authors reviewed the literature to develop a discussion about advanced nursing practice.

Keywords: COVID‐19 pandemic; advanced practice registered nurse; health disparities; nurse practitioner; nursing education; sub‐Saharan Africa.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Impact of COVID‐19 in Sub‐Saharan Africa. The figure outlines how the pandemic strained healthcare systems through worsened infrastructure, supply shortages, and overwhelmed hospitals. It highlights workforce challenges including increased workloads and mental health issues. Additionally, it shows how diverted resources increased the burden of diseases like HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria, disrupting immunisation schedules, and worsened maternal mortality.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Ahmat, A. , Okoroafor S. C., Kazanga I., et al. 2022. “The Health Workforce Status in the WHO African Region: Findings of a Cross‐Sectional Study.” BMJ Global Health 7, no. Suppl 1: e008317. 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-008317. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bajaria, S. , and Abdul R.. 2020. “Preparedness of Health Facilities Providing HIV Services During COVID‐19 Pandemic and Assessment of Their Compliance to COVID‐19 Prevention Measures: Findings From the Tanzania Service Provision Assessment (SPA) Survey.” Pan African Medical Journal 37, no. Suppl 1: 18. 10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.37.18.25443. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barasa, E. W. , Ouma P. O., and Okiro E. A.. 2020. “Assessing the Hospital Surge Capacity of the Kenyan Health System in the Face of the COVID‐19 Pandemic.” PLoS One 15, no. 7: 1–13. 10.1371/journal.pone.0236308. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bell, D. , Hansen K. S., Kiragga A. N., Kambugu A., Kissa J., and Mbonye A. K.. 2020. “Predicting the Impact of COVID‐19 and the Potential Impact of the Public Health Response on Disease Burden in Uganda.” American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 103, no. 3: 1191–1197. 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0546. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brennan, C. 2020. “Tracing the History of the Nurse Practitioner Profession in 2020, the Year of the Nurse.” Journal of Pediatric Health Care 34, no. 2: 83–84. 10.1016/j.pedhc.2019.12.005. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources