Advanced Nursing Practice and Advanced Practice Nursing roles within low and lower‐middle‐income countries

AbstractIntroductionPopulation health initiatives rely on the availability and skills of an appropriate workforce to meet required goals. One global workforce initiative with demonstrated ability to expand health care services and improve access to care is the development of Advanced Nursing Practice and Advanced Practice Nursing roles. Given the sparse published information about these roles in Low and Lower‐Middle‐Income countries, this study seeks to describe their development and application in these countries.DesignThe researchers developed a descriptive cross‐sectional multilingual survey for online distribution to nursing experts within the targeted countries. Survey questions addressed demographic information on the population served, Advanced Nursing Practice and Advanced Practice Nursing titles, the time frame and rationale for creating the title, and how the roles relate to the International Council of Nurses' Advanced Practice Nursing guidelines characteristics of education, practice, and regulation.ResultsOf the 167 responses received, only 24 participants met the inclusion criteria. This represented five low‐income countries and nineteen lower‐middle‐income countries