PLENARY SESSION 2: Claiming an Area of Knowledge as Nursing Science to Improve the Health of Marginalized Populations

Description/Overview: The meaning of the Greek word episteme is a system of understanding or a body of ideas which give shape to the knowledge of that time, contrasted to "doxa" or common belief or opinion. The collaborative effort of many nurse researchers and practitioners over 25 years has resulted in the holistic health outcomes of violence being recognized both inside and outside nursing as an important area of nursing science. Nursing science has broken ground in integrating knowledge about the physiological and neurobiological with physical and mental health and behavioral responses to being abused and victimized by violence. The nursing knowledge has provided leadership in improving the health care system response and health policy for victims of violence which can significantly decrease the multiple health inequities related to violence for marginalized populations. This presentation will trace this progress and provide strategic lessons in unwavering purpose to improve the health of vulnerable populations, policy formation, community collaborations and epistemology for other emerging areas of nursing science. Specific areas where nursing science has led the way such as the physical and mental health outcomes through physiological and neurobiological alterations such as immune system dysfunction of violence victimization, physiological intersections of violence against women and HIV, the health inequities resulting from violence victimization for marginalized populations, the health outcomes for women and infants from abuse during pregnancy including maternal mortality from homicide and suicide, and the risk factors for intimate partner femicide including strangulation and how to assess danger with abused women. The policy initiatives that have resulted from this work (e.g. routine screening and brief counseling for abused women in the ACA, intersections of HIV and gender based violence) will be described as well as effective nursing interventions improving the health and safety of abused women (e.g. DOVE, IRIS and the MyPlan app) and suggested interventions for other forms of trauma (such as appropriate assessment and interventions for TBI among abused women; appropriate health as well as justice interventions for campus sexual assault victims) and other age and cultural groups building on nursing knowledge. The particular "empowerment" epistemology used by most of the nursing researchers in this field will also be described as appropriate for other fields of nursing science where the purpose is to improve the health of vulnerable populations through research, effective practice and policy formation.