Page 114 - Human Rights

Faculty of Nursing
Adult care Nursing Department

Given the importance of ethics, a strong case can be made for ensuring that all nurses and

midwives receive information about how fundamental human rights relate to their practice both

during their training and regularly throughout their careers.

Education and training for nurses A study conducted in 2001 in the UK423 found only three
previous references to studies on human rights education in the training of health professionals.

In his survey of nurse educators, Chamberlain found that general awareness of international law

and standards was good, with 90%, 78% and 59% demonstrating awareness of the International

Bill of Rights (comprising the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenants
on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), the UN Convention of the

Rights of the Child and the UN Convention against Torture (in particular, Article 10 on education),
respectively.

Fifty-nine per cent were aware of the International Council of Nurses’ statement on the Nurse’s
Role in Safeguarding Human Rights.

Topics taught weighed heavily towards domestic rather than international human rights issues.

The primary barrier to the inclusion of human rights education in the curriculum was pressure on
timetabling; problems around the assessment of human rights education were also mentioned.

3.5.2 Education and public health implications

A number of authors have recommended that a strong ethical framework that promotes human
rights and social justice can enable nurses to contribute to the building of healthy communities.

The World Health Organization has defined the characteristics of a healthy community as: a clean

and safe physical environment; an environment that promotes social harmony and actively

involves everyone; an understanding of the local health and environment issues; community

110 Academic Year 2025/2026