Celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Korean Academy of Child Health Nursing
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The Korean Academy of Child Health Nursing (KACHN) is the most prominent and representative academic institution in the field of child health care in Korea. KACHN is dedicated to supporting children—from newborns to adolescents—and their families in preserving and improving their health, as well as in preventing diseases.
The majority of members of KACHN are faculty members and researchers at academic institutions, as well as child care specialists working in hospitals and community settings. KACHN is dedicated to advancing the theoretical and practical aspects of child health nursing by facilitating scholarly and multidisciplinary exchanges among its members.
KACHN engages in various activities, including hosting two conferences annually, providing research grants, presenting awards for outstanding research, and offering empowerment programs for junior scholars. These programs are designed to improve their skills in education and research pertaining to child health care. Child Health Nursing Research (CHNR) is the official journal of KACHN. It is a double-blind, peer-reviewed, open-access publication that disseminates original research and review articles on nursing and health care for children and their families, covering the spectrum from the beginning of life to young adulthood.
1. The Mission and Vision of the Korean Academy of Child Health Nursing
The mission of KACHN is to support the development of children into future societal leaders by fostering a secure and healthy environment. To achieve this, we explore nursing knowledge related to children and families, establish best practices for child care, and disseminate this information to enhance the health and well-being of children.
The vision of KACHN is to be the most trustworthy research organization in the field of child health nursing, the leading advocacy group for child health nursing, and the most respected professional body within the child health nursing community.
The members of KACHN will conduct themselves in the following manner in order to fulfill its mission and vision. We pledge to protect children from all threats to their health as part of our calling as specialists in child health nursing. We are committed to child health nursing research, carrying out evidence-based nursing practices, and sharing research results with our society and others dedicated to the highest standard of child health care. Our commitment encompasses safety and health education so that children do not suffer needlessly from injuries or illnesses. We are dedicated to protecting children from physically and mentally harmful situations and/or abuse to ensure that they can lead fruitful lives and live happily. We advocate for the healthy growth and development of all children and the rights of children from vulnerable backgrounds, including those from single-parent families, grandparent-headed families, low-income families, and multicultural families.
2. The History of the Korean Academy of Child Health Nursing
Our academy originated as the Academy of Obstetric and Pediatric Nursing, an academic division of the Korean Society of Nursing Science, in June 1971. In February 1979, it was rebranded as an affiliated Academy of Maternal and Child Health Nursing under the same society. The name was revised once more in March 1987, becoming the Academy of Maternal and Child Health Nursing.
In December 1994, we separated from the parent organization to establish the Academy of Child Health Nursing. We celebrated the 43rd anniversary of the founding and the 20th anniversary of the Academy’s restructuring in June 2014. In October 2015, we incorporated “Korea” into the society's Korean name, thus becoming the KACHN. This year, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the restructuring of the KACHN.
We held our first academic conference in July 1994, and since then, we have held two conferences per year, focusing on current issues in child health care. We also organize annual educational seminars and workshops for university faculty, researchers, and child care specialists. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we held online web seminars for pediatric nursing education and clinical care.
In January 1995, we held our first overseas training program about pediatric critical care nursing at the Hawaii Honolulu Center for Asia Pacific Exchange. We also held overseas clinical education programs for advanced nursing practice for child health care at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in July 2007 and July 2023.
We published the first issue of the Korean Journal of Child Health Nursing, which included four survey studies, one instrument development study [1], and a literature review [2]. The journal changed its name to the Journal of the Korean Academy of Child Health Nursing in May 2005 and was listed in the Korea Citation Index (KCI) in January 2006.
The journal changed its name to CHNR in January 2013. In 2018, CHNR was indexed in Scopus and started to be published in English once a year. In 2019, CHNR published two English-language issues, and in 2020, it published three issues in English. Since volume 27, issue 3 in 2020, all articles in CHNR have been published in English. The transition of CHNR to an all-English publication has resulted in an increase in international submissions [3]. CHNR was indexed in PubMed Central (PMC) in January 2022, and was the first nursing journal in Korea to become a PMC journal [4].
3. Future Perspectives of the Korean Academy of Child Health Nursing
To date, KACHN has established itself as a leader in research, theory, and practice within the field of child health nursing. Its members deliver health care services to children and their families, both domestically and internationally.
As specialists in child health nursing, we are committed to protecting children from health hazards and fostering a safe environment for their well-being. Numerous severe health risks for children have been linked to environmental threats such as air pollution and climate change. Because children are still developing, the long-term effects of a harmful environment are disproportionately greater for them [5]. Given that nature and the environment will play a crucial role in shaping their future, it is essential for children to recognize the importance of the environment, engage in active environmental conservation, and express their opinions. Adults should be attentive to the perspectives of children as well [6]. As professionals in the field, we must acknowledge the significance of the environment in children's lives and commit to conducting future research to generate relevant evidence in child health nursing.
We will continue to hold high-quality academic conferences, education seminars, and research workshops to support child health nursing research, the implementation of evidence-based nursing practices, and the dissemination of research findings with our society. Our journal, CHNR, remains dedicated to promoting the health, development, and well-being of children and their families in Korea and all over the world by providing research on evidence-based practices.
We are committed to safety and health education to prevent children from suffering unnecessary injuries or illnesses. Child maltreatment includes various forms of exploitation and neglect, as well as physical, psychological, and sexual abuse that threaten a child’s development, life, health, or dignity [7]. Much of this maltreatment occurs repeatedly within the home. Therefore, it is essential to establish a safe home environment for children. Our dedication extends to shielding children from physically and mentally harmful circumstances, including abuse, to enable them to lead successful and happy lives.
We will advocate for the healthy growth and development of all children, as well as their rights, particularly in vulnerable families. Adolescents from multicultural families often face challenges in forming relationships with their peers, suffering from low self-esteem and identity issues due to social marginalization and the prejudice of not being recognized as Korean [8]. With the rise of multicultural families in South Korea and other countries, it is crucial to understand the unique characteristics of these families. Our goal is to support children from multicultural backgrounds in integrating into mainstream Korean society in a way that promotes healthy interactions while preserving their distinct cultures and identities.
As members of KACHN, we are proud of our contribution to children's health and remain committed to our academic organization's mission and duty to eradicate health disparities. We will continue to strive for equitable access to a wide range of resources for children and their families.
Notes
Authors' contribution
All the work was done by Hyun Young Koo.
Conflict of interest
Hyun Young Koo has been an editor of Child Health Nursing Research since 2016. She was not involved in the review process of this article. No existing or potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
Funding
None.
Data availability
Please contact the corresponding author for data availability.
Acknowledgements
None.