More foreign-trained nurses have entered the U.S. work force in recent years, often from lower-income countries with overburdened health care systems.
Using 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census data, researchers found foreign-trained nurses made up 8.8 percent of all new registered nurses in the United States in 1990 and 15.2 percent in 2000. In 2000, 21 percent of foreign-trained RNs originated from low-income countries, a doubling of the rate since 1990. In addition, the rate of foreign-trained RNs originating from Africa tripled during that time period.
"The prospect for higher wages overseas attracts talented local workers to the field of nursing, which may increase local and worldwide nursing supply," said the study's authors, who cautioned against prohibiting nurses from leaving their home countries to work elsewhere. "The implications of policy changes should be carefully considered to avoid unintended consequences."
[From: "Foreign-Trained Nurses: 10-Year Trends in Skills and Country of Origin." Contact: Daniel Polsky, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.]
Table of Contents - American Journal of Public Health
Below is the tentative table of contents for the May 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health. All articles will be published online March 29, 2007, at 4 p.m. (EST) under "First Look," and are scheduled to appear in the May 2007 print issue of the Journal.
Letters and Responses
Agent-based modeling for public health: Use with necessary caution
Gregory Jones
Mezic et al. Response to Letter to the Editor AJPH/2006/109058 by Jones
Igor Mezic, Paul J Gruenewald, Dennis M Gorman, and Jadranka Mezic
Editor's Choice
Closing the Gaps
Farzana Kapadia
Public Health Then and Now
Race and the Politics of Polio: Warm Springs, Tuskegee and the March of Dimes
Naomi Rogers
Framing Health Matters
Generating political priority for maternal mortality reduction in five developing countries
Jeremy Shiffman
Research and Practice
Out-of-Pocket Health-Care Spending by the Poor and Chronically Ill in the Republic of Korea
Jennifer Prah Ruger and Hak-Ju Kim
Self-rated health trajectories in the US and UK: a comparative study
Amanda Sacker, Mel Bartley, Richard D Wiggins, and Peggy McDonough
Environmental Health Practice: Statistically Based Performance Measurement
Richard T. Enander, Ronald N. Gagnon, R. Choudary Hanumara, Eugene Park, Thomas Armstrong, and David M. Gute
Predictors of Low-Intent and High-Intent Suicide Attempts in Rural China
Kenneth R Conner, Michael R. Phillips, and Sean Meldrum
Socioeconomic Status and Risk of Arsenic-related Skin Lesions in Bangladesh
Maria Argos, Faruque Parvez, Yu Chen, AZM Iftikhar Hussain, Hassina Momotaj, Geoffrey R Howe, Joseph H Graziano, and Habibul Ahsan
Housing Instability Among Current and Former Welfare Recipients
Robin Phinney, Sheldon Danziger, Harold A. Pollack, and Kristin Seefeldt
Educational Inequalities in Initiation, Cessation, and Prevalence of Smoking Among 3 Italian Birth Cohorts
Bruno Federico, Giuseppe Costa, and Anton E. Kunst
Integrating Public Health Control Strategies: Balancing Water Sanitation and Hygiene Interventions to Reduce Diarrheal Disease Burden
Joseph N. S. Eisenberg, James C. Scott, and Travis Porco
Time trends in social inequalities in cancer mortality among French men between 1968 and 1996
Gwenn Menvielle, Annette Leclerc, Jean-François Chastang, Maria Melchior, and Danièle Luce
Health of the inhabitants of Roma settlements in Hungary - a comparative health survey
Zsigmond Kósa, György Széles, László Kardos, Karolina Kósa, Renáta Németh, Sándor Országh, Gabriella Fésüs, Martin McKee, Róza Ádány, and Zoltán Vokó
Husbands' involvement in housework and women's psychosocial health: Findings from a population-based study in Lebanon
Marwan Khawaja and Rima R Habib
Social inequalities in perinatal mortality in Belo Horizonte,Brazil: The role of hospital care
Sonia Lansky, Elisabeth Franca, and Ichiro Kawachi
Socioeconomic Position, Co-occurrence of Behaviour-related Risk Factors, and Coronary Heart Disease: The Finnish Public Sector Study
Mika Kivimäki, Debbie A. Lawlor, George Davey Smith, Anne Kouvonen, Marianna Virtanen, Marko Elovainio, and Jussi Vahtera
Community Coalition Networks as Systems: Effects of Network Change on Adoption of Evidence-Based Prevention
Thomas W. Valente, Chich Ping Chou, and Mary Ann Pentz
Associations Between Lifestyle and Depressed Mood: Longitudinal Results From the Maastricht Aging Study
Coen H. van Gool, Gertrudis I.J.M. Kempen, Hans Bosma, Martin P.J. van Boxtel, Jelle Jolles, and Jacques T.M. van Eijk
Foreign-trained nurses: 10-year trends in skills and country of origin
Daniel Polsky, Sara J Ross, Barbara L Brush, and Julie Sochalski
Globalizatin, Bi-National Communities and Imported Food Risks: Results of an Outbreak Investigation of Lead Poisoning in Monterey County, California
Margaret A Handley, Celeste Hall, Eric D Sanford, Evie Diaz, Enrique Gonzalez-Mendez, Kaitie Drace, Robert Wilson, Mario Villalobos, and Mary S Croughan
Family History of Diabetes, Awareness of Risk Factors and Health Behaviors among African Americans
Kesha A Baptiste-Roberts, Tiffany L. Gary, Gloria L.A. Beckles, Edward Gregg, Michelle Owens, Deborah Porterfield, and Mike Engelgau
Associations Between Body Composition, Anthropometry and Mortality in Women of Age 65 and Older
Chantal Matkin Dolan, Helena C Kraemer, Warren Browner, Kristine Ensrud, and Jennifer L Kelsey
The Latino Paradox in Neighborhood Context: The Case of Asthma and Other Respiratory Conditions
Kathleen A Cagney, Christopher R Browning, and Danielle M Wallace
The Relationship between Neighborhood Characteristics and Self-Rated Health for Adults with Chronic Conditions
Arleen F. Brown, Alfonso Ang, and Anne R. Pebley
Relationships Between Self-Reported Unfair Treatment and Prescription Medication Use, Illicit Drug Use, and Alcohol Dependence Among Filipino Americans
Gilbert C. Gee, Jorge Delva, and David T. Takeuchi
Effects of ONDCP's Marijuana Initiative Campaign on High Sensation-Seeking Youth
Philip Palmgreen, Elizabeth P. Lorch, Michael T. Stephenson, Rick H. Hoyle, and Lewis Donohew
Reciprocal and non-reciprocal intimate partner violence: Differences in violence frequency and reported injury
Daniel J Whitaker, Tadesse Haileyesus, Monica Swahn, and Linda Saltzman
The American Journal of Public Health is the monthly journal of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the oldest organization of public health professionals in the world. APHA is a leading publisher of public health-related books and periodicals promoting high scientific standards, action programs and policy for good health. More information is available at apha.