Nursing System in the Time of COVID-19

Dear Colleagues,

According to the latest WHO report, nursing is the largest occupational group in the health sector, accounting for approximately 59% of health professionals (World Health Organization, 2020). 

Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people. Advocacy, promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy, inpatient and health system management, and education are also key nursing roles (International Council of Nurses, 2002).

Thus, nurses are present in all health–disease processes throughout the life cycle and in all care settings all over the world.

However, the WHO report also shows us that the world does not have a global nursing workforce commensurate with universal health coverage and SDG targets. In addition, nursing remains a highly gendered profession with associated biases in the workplace (World Health Organization, 2020).

It was in this context that nurses all over the world participated in the collective effort to fight the pandemic by being present on all possible fronts.

This pandemic has been a great challenge to both professional and organizational skills, namely those requiring interprofessional and intersectoral collaboration.

In this context, we intend to investigate the contribution of nursing during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering, among others, the dimensions listed below. We will accept manuscripts from different disciplines, provided that the focus is on the system, the profession, or the discipline of nursing.

• Intervention at the prevention and control level:
• Restraint measures
• Vaccination 
• Intervention in the provision of care to COVID-19 patients (home and inpatient care):
• Emergency care
• Intensive care
• Rehabilitation care 
• Follow-up of patients at home
• Intervention in the definitions of health and management policies and
• Intervention in the teaching of professionals
• Intervention at the level of research and development

However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the remaining care needs of the population persisted. How did nurses respond to these care needs?

Finally, at this stage, when in some countries the post-COVID phase is being prepared, what lessons can we learn from this experience to help us rethink care models and the role of nurses in health systems?

Prof. Dr. Manuel José Lopes
Dr. César Fonseca
Dr. Lara Guedes de Pinho
Guest Editors

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