2024: Precision Health: Implications for Nursing Practice
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Fangonil-Gagalang, Evangeline ; Schultz, Mary Anne ; Huryk, Laurie ; Payne, Pamela ; Schoenbaum, Anna ; Velez, Kimberly
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Abstract
Background Precision Health (PH) is an innovative healthcare approach that customizes treatments based on individual characteristics. These individual characteristics include data from testing and analysis of genetics, genomics, and other omics, such as proteomics, metabolomics, and microbiomics, as well as data generated from wearable devices, direct-to-consumer testing, patient-derived health data, social determinants of health (SDOH), and health literacy. Problem Despite its potential benefits, there exists a notable lack of confidence and knowledge in PH, particularly within the nursing community. This deficiency can be attributed to the absence of a consistent definition and variability in educational approaches. A literature review confirmed a lack of available competencies in PH in general, while a subsequent pilot study assessing nurses’ PH knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA), conveyed that nurses feel discomfort with their own level of knowledge and skills related to PH specifically. However, nurses strongly recognized the need to incorporate PH data into plans of care and treatment options. Recommendations The journey towards building confidence and expertise in precision health begins with nurses taking ownership of the process and developing standardized PH definitions and education. To address this gap, the ANA convened a workgroup of experts to produce nursing competencies in PH. These competencies will guide educators in curriculum development. Implications for Nursing Practice Informatics nurses have a pivotal role in integrating PH data into technological solutions. The time is now for informatics nurses to capture the national momentum for the push to incorporate advancing technology and individualized care into nursing practice. Beyond designing EHRs to enable the accurate documentation of PH data, the informatics nurse must look at PH through the lens of technology and imagine the potential for nurses, as their KSAs in PH advance, to facilitate the use of emerging tools to achieve truly personalized patient care.