NYU College of Nursing Global Division: Developing an academic unit to advance health solutions

Purpose: The College of Nursing at NYU – the world’s first global network university – created a Global Division in 2011 to conduct research and capacity-building to address critical global health challenges.

Methods:The NYU College of Nursing Global Division (NYUCN-G) focuses in five areas of expertise: Health System Strengthening/Health Workforce, HIV/Infectious Diseases, Non-Communicable Diseases, Healthy Aging, and Maternal-Child Health/Midwifery.  Strategic planning was undertaken and development, operations, and methods cores established.

Results:Funding has been obtained from federal (NIH, USAID, State Department), foundation (BMGF), multilateral (UNAIDS), corporation (Banco Santander) and other partnerships.  Portfolio of current work includes: (1) Rwanda Human Resources for Health Program to rebuild the national health workforce over seven years; (2) Ghana Wins! a five-year Nurse Leaders program with Mujeres por Africa Foundation, University of Ghana, and MoH; (3) WHO Collaborating Center for Geriatric Nursing Education; (4) Global workforce training in Russia, Georgia, Tanzania, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Mexico; 5) multiple HIV prevention and care studies in Kenya, Ghana, and 6) a multicountry systematic review of HIV and gender equity. Projects completed or under development include (1) Global Health Scholars program for nurses from low-income country MoHs for translational research training; (2) a Global Health Workforce summit attended by 90 thought leaders, implementers and funders (forthcoming publication); (3) associate clinician training program for Ghana.

Conclusions: Creating an academic global health research entity that can nimbly collaborate with internal and external partners has its challenges and opportunities.  Among the former are need for diversified and sustainable funding, including internal investment; mentoring junior faculty for global health work that is not a ‘traditional’ tenure pathway; balancing research against education and service missions of modern universities; and nurturing mutually-beneficial collaborations, across disciplines, in both host and US partner universities.  Lessons learned and shared are highly applicable to STTI members.