Document Type
Article
Department
School of Nursing and Midwifery, East Africa
Abstract
Background: There is increasing global evidence on the impact of advanced nursing andmidwifery practitioners, and Kenya’s healthcare system has an excellent opportunity todevelop scopes of practice and other regulatory frameworks for the integration of theseroles.
Objective: The primary purpose of this gap analysis was to explore the existing evidenceon opportunities and threats toward the integration of the advanced practice nursing(APN) and advanced practice midwifery (APM) roles in Kenya’s healthcare system.
Methods: The study team conducted a structured electronic database search of PubMed,CINAHL, Scopus, EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete, and PsycINFO to retrievearticles and credible websites for reports highlighting the opportunities and threatstoward the integration of the APN and APM roles in Kenya’s healthcare systems. Theretrieved articles were screened for relevance and synthesized for reporting using thetraditional literature review approach.
Results: The Kenya Health Policy Framework 2014–2030, growing population needs,and implementation of universal health coverage provide an opportunity to harness andleverage advanced practice roles in nursing and midwifery. There is also momentum todevelop advanced practice because of strategic alliances and global evidence showing thecontributions and quality of services offered by advanced practice nurses and advancedpractice midwives. However, lack of financial support, structural challenges, and lack ofnational policies, regulations, and legislation continue to obstruct progress.
Conclusion and implications: for nursing policy:Developing scopes of practice forAPN and APM in Kenya will benefit the professions, the country’s healthcare deliverysystem, and the population. Achieving universal health coverage depends on a healthworkforce trained and practicing at optimal levels in tandem with education and trainingto deliver quality care
Publication (Name of Journal)
International Nursing Review
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12947
Recommended Citation
Ndirangu, E.,
Kimani, R.,
Onyancha, C.,
Mutwiri, B.,
May, B.,
Kambo, I.,
Koech, N.,
Mukuna, A.,
Henderson, C.,
Shumba, C.
(2024). Scopes of practice for advanced practice nursing and advanced practice midwifery in Kenya: A gap analysis. International Nursing Review, 1-9.
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/eastafrica_fhs_sonam/514
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.