International Council of Nurses – Position Statment
Date: 2020
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) works to ensure quality holistic nursing care, encompassing mental and physical health and spiritual, cultural and social wellbeing. Mental health is a cornerstone of health and wellbeing for individuals, communities and societies and nurses play a crucial role in the promotion and maintenance of mental health and wellbeing.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as, “a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her/his community”. Conditions that promote the highest attainable standard of health are a human right and the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness have detracted from that right for centuries. (Download the full document to read more)
Readers are encouraged to share insights on how this International Council of Nurses report resonates with nursing practice, professional issues, or system challenges in the Aotearoa New Zealand context.