Editorial: Nursing innovation and reform in health care

Abstract

Leading the way in discussion and debate of nursing innovation and health care reform, it is a great pleasure for us to present this special issue of Contemporary Nurse, devoted to nursing innovation and reform in health care. It is an exciting time to be a nurse. In many ways nursing is facing unprecedented challenges. Nurses all over the world are grappling with a range of complex issues; from conceptualising how care can best be delivered to as many people as possible, in a climate of an ageing workforce and shrinking resources, through to developing and delivering culturally-sensitive innovations in service provision, all within a context of nursing role development and workforce diversification. Nurses face an increasing complexity in ethical challenges, fuelled by technological innovation and increased fiscal constraints (Davidson, Daly, & Hill, 2013), and their education seems to be under almost constant review particularly in the UK (Royal College of Nursing, 2012; Health Education England, 2014, ongoing). Although these challenges may seem overwhelming at times, they also represent considerable opportunities for practice innovation and service reform. Indeed, there is growing interest in how to promote and enhance innovation among nurses (Tsai, Liou, Hsiao, & Cheng, 2013; Weng, Huang, Huang, & Wang, 2012).