title: The impact of economic recession on health-care and the contribution by nurses to promote individuals' dignity.
abstract: The health sector is facing many challenges, and there is a need to maintain the delivery of high-quality health-care. Issues related to equity and access to health-care have emerged in a context of an economic recession in which the sustainability of the health system depends on everyone, including the actions and decisions of professionals. Therefore, nurses and their skills may be the answer to ethical, professional and community health management, but this recession could lead to major problems in the education of nurses in daily health-care practice. Due to the limited availability of resources, nurses are increasingly taking leadership positions, continuing to develop their critical abilities and thinking skills, and considering sciences such as deontology and ethics. The main goals of this study were to reflect on the economic recession and its impact on health-care and to demonstrate the contribution of nursing to the sustainability of health-care and in the promotion of individuals' dignity. The authors conclude that health-care depends on economic redistribution and, in this context, needs to be equitable and fair. Nurses have the responsibility to develop their profession according to the underlying sciences and can therefore strategically help the healthcare system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Sciences and Health, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.|Nursing School of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Sciences and Health, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Guilhermina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rego
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Sciences and Health, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nunes
mesh_terms: D057172:Economic Recession / Q000266:history; D004471:Economics, Nursing; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000941:ethics; D011174:Portugal; D011787:Quality of Health Care
keywords: access to health-care; delivery of health-care; economic recession; human dignity; nurse's role; quality of health-care