Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Nurs Outlook 62 (2014) 7
www.nursingoutlook.org
Letter to the Editor
Letter to the Editor To the Editor: In her recent article in Nursing Outlook, Dr. Cecily Betz identified the need for an important change in nursing practice related to the transition of adolescents with special health care needs (Betz, 2013). The issue of lack of involvement of nursing in the area of disability, however, is much broader and extends to the topic of disability in nursing education and practice more generally. After conducting research on disparities in access to health care among people with disabilities, this author believes that it is time for nursing organizationsdgeneral as well as specialty organizations and those that influence nursing educationdto address the health disparities that affect people with disabilities and their lack of access to quality health care and nursing care. Nurses and the nursing profession have the opportunity to make positive differences in the lives of people with disabilities across the life span. To do less is a disservice to those with disabilities and conflicts
with the position of the International Council of Nurses that nurses are key to early detection and intervention, health promotion, prevention, teaching, and counseling for people with disabilities and their families.
reference Betz, C. L. (2013). Health care transition for adolescents with special health care needs: Where’s nursing? Nursing Outlook, 61(5), 258e265.
Suzanne C. Smeltzer, EdD, RN, FAAN Villanova University, College of Nursing Villanova, PA 0029-6554/$ e see front matter Ó 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2013.10.008
Nurs Outlook 62 (2014) 7
www.nursingoutlook.org
Letter to the Editor
Letter to the Editor To the Editor: In her recent article in Nursing Outlook, Dr. Cecily Betz identified the need for an important change in nursing practice related to the transition of adolescents with special health care needs (Betz, 2013). The issue of lack of involvement of nursing in the area of disability, however, is much broader and extends to the topic of disability in nursing education and practice more generally. After conducting research on disparities in access to health care among people with disabilities, this author believes that it is time for nursing organizationsdgeneral as well as specialty organizations and those that influence nursing educationdto address the health disparities that affect people with disabilities and their lack of access to quality health care and nursing care. Nurses and the nursing profession have the opportunity to make positive differences in the lives of people with disabilities across the life span. To do less is a disservice to those with disabilities and conflicts
with the position of the International Council of Nurses that nurses are key to early detection and intervention, health promotion, prevention, teaching, and counseling for people with disabilities and their families.
reference Betz, C. L. (2013). Health care transition for adolescents with special health care needs: Where’s nursing? Nursing Outlook, 61(5), 258e265.
Suzanne C. Smeltzer, EdD, RN, FAAN Villanova University, College of Nursing Villanova, PA 0029-6554/$ e see front matter Ó 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2013.10.008
