2026年国际护士节报告：赋权护士 拯救生命

Empowered NursesSave Lives Lead authors: David Stewart, ICN Director, Nursing Policy and PracticeGillian Moore, ICN Communications Consultant Contributors:Howard Catton, ICN Chief Executive Officer Editor:Lindsey Williamson Cover photo credit:“Son las 20:00h”, Teresa Marco. Consejo General de Enfermería de España. All rights, including translation into other languages, reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced in print, by photostatic means or in any other manner, or stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form, or sold without the express written permission of the InternationalCouncil of Nurses. Short excerpts (under 300 words) may be reproduced without authorization,on condition that the source is indicated. Copyright © 2026 by ICN–International Council of Nurses,3, place Jean-Marteau, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland. ISBN: 978-92-95124-51-6 Table of contents FOREWORD5 CHAPTER EXECUTIVE SUMMARY7 Why nursing power matters now7 Overcoming workforce gapsand maldistribution33 A clear health and economic case:invest for impact10 The impact of a strong nursing workforce34 From charter to action:empowerednurses save lives11 Addressing the multi-crisis drivingshortages34 Equity and international migration:extracting from fragile systems is notthe solution to shortages38 CHAPTER 1THE POWER OF TRUST13 The blueprint: policy actions for the powerof numbers40 Nurses’ power to overcome the trust gap14The impact of trust15Supporting the pillars of trust21The blueprint: policy actionsfor empowered trust22 CHAPTER 4THE POWEROF PRACTICE41 Scope of practice and professionalidentity44 CHAPTER The impact of the power of practice44 Overcoming constraints: what is holdingnursing back49 Why the power of the professionalmatters now25 The blueprint: policy actionsfor empowered practice49 The impact and foundationof nursing professionalism26 The dangers of unsafe substitution andthe false economy of unregulated labour29 The blueprint: policy actionsfor empowered professionals30 CHAPTER CHAPTER 7THE POWEROF PEACE73 Overcoming the care gap54The impact of integrated, person-centredcare56Empowering nurses to integrateand personalize care58The blueprint: policy actionsfor person-centred, integrated care62 The impact of nursing powerin conflict74 The systematic destruction of healthin conflict76 The blueprint: policy actions for the powerof peace78 CONCLUSION:INVEST FOR IMPACT 80 CHAPTER The case for investment80Investing in nurse leadership for betterdecisions, execution and outcomes80Overcoming investment challenges:rising demands and financing constraints81Investing in systemic change:three key levers83 Nursing proximity is definedby both patient time and frequency66 Why nurse proximity matters67 Challenges to nurse proximity70 Overcoming the barriers to nurseproximity71 The blueprint: policy actions to unlockthe power of proximity71 Foreword This year’s International Nurses Day theme,Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses SaveLives, is both a celebration of nursing power and a call to invest in the conditions required toenable it. Every single day, across every single region, nurses save, improve, and transformlives. Nursing power is real, measurable, and high-impact — and it must be recognized andnamed. This report brings together clear evidence of the impact of nursing. It identifies seven distinctnursing powers that improve health outcomes, makehealth systems more resilient and accessible, andsupport social and economic progress. It also sets outwhat must be done to maximize the impact of nursingacross all countries and contexts. The 2026 IND report comes at a moment of extraor-dinary pressure for health systems and nurses, withsevere workforce shortages, growing and increasinglycomplex health needs, and rising conflicts, climatecrises, and inequalities. My Presidential watchword is“empowerment”, because empowering nurses to reachtheir full impact is the surest way to meet these demandswhile protecting the quality and safety of care. As thisreport makes clear, “empowerment” means structuralenablement. It means leaders making the deliberatechoice to create the conditions that allow nursing to deliver at its highest impact, consistently and at scale. It means ensuring safe working conditions and fair pay; removing barriers that wastenursing expertise and time; and building systems that translate nursing capacity into measurableimprovements in safety, access, continuity of care, and outcomes. And it means nurses having astrong voice at every level of leadership and decision making. If we want stronger primary health care, safer hospitals, better chronic disease management,more equitable access to essential services, and more resilience to shocks, we must give nursesthe authority, tools, data, resources, and fair and safe working conditions needed to deliver. Thisreport sets out a clear framework for empowered nursing, based on the ICN Charter for Changeand the