Changing disease profiles

Disease profiles may change, affecting the type of nursing skills needed. Outbreaks of new diseases could drive new systems of nursing, changing the way care is thought about and delivered.

The profile and structure of diseases may change in future, which may affect the type of nursing skills needed to treat these diseases.

The emergence of new diseases or disease strains could drive new systems or standards of nursing, transforming the way care is thought about and delivered. HIV and AIDS in the 1980s radically changed nursing: Following the emergence of HIV and AIDS, procedures in infection control changed to give greater protection to the workforce, and the experiences of monitoring and managing patients with HIV over a long time went on to influence treatment of other long-term conditions.

However, patients’ reactions to such innovations in procedure also led nurses to consider how patients viewed them, and how best to preserve the sense of trust from patients, especially in the case of illnesses where significant stigma was attached (such as in the case of AIDS).

Could new diseases emerge that have similarly radical but different effects on nursing as a profession?

While skills will almost certainly need to change to take new illnesses and strains of illnesses into account, there is a risk that if insufficient care is taken in considering patient views, patients may be less trusting of the nursing profession. The changing profile of diseases, therefore, has implications for both demand and for supply.

Sources or references

• Suggested by number of stakeholders in interview and in workshops during CfWI research on nursing.
• From unpublished CfWI report (report available on request).

Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.