San Diego, CA – January 16, 2024 – Four Cognella textbooks were recently awards with 2023 Book of the Year Awards from the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) in the categories of Community/Home Health Care, Informatics, Nursing Education/Professional Development, and Public and Population Health.

Established in 1969, AJN has published an annual list of the most valuable nursing texts. The annual list has grown into a prestigious award program that enlists experts to serve as judges across 20 subcategories within the discipline.

For the 2023 award program: 

Social and Behavioral Foundations of Public Health (3^rd Edition) edited by Jeannine Coreil was awarded second place in the Community/Home Health Care category. 

Digital Health and Public and Community Health by Anita Finkelman was awarded second place in the Informatics category. 

Spotlighting Narrative Pedagogy in Nursing Education by Susan E. Bassett was awarded second place in the Nursing Education/Professional Development category. 

Population Health: Practical Skills for Future Health Professionals by Anne M. Hewitt was awarded third place in the Public and Population Health category.

Social and Behavioral Foundations of Public Health edited by Jeanine Coreil

The third edition of Social and Behavioral Foundations of Public Health emphasizes the importance of social environmental and cultural dimensions of health by examining current issues in health from a wide range of social and behavioral science perspectives. The book uses a social-ecological framework to address multilevel influences on health and applies key concepts in current research and practice. Editor Jeannine Coreil and thirty contributing authors use examples from the forefront of public health to illustrate the relevance of core competencies in the field for diverse real-world problems.

The AJN judging panel shared the following comments about the text:

“This textbook effectively utilizes social and behavioral approaches to provide a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and forward-looking agenda for addressing public health needs in the context of our rapidly changing world. Since the previous edition of this book was published, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, social media, and technological breakthroughs dramatically changed how individuals interact at local and global levels. Demographic, environmental, and social and cultural changes and related issues (such as migration and displacement of refugees, political polarization, vaccine refusal, and the tendency of conspiracy theories to emerge in times of crisis) have created unique and complex challenges to public health practice. These unprecedented challenges require new approaches to public health. While more traditional infection control and environmental protections remain vitally important, this book describes a “new public health” paradigm that focuses on social conditions that undermine health and behavioral patterns that put people at risk for illness and injury. Case studies are presented to support learning in each chapter.”

“This award means a great deal to me because I’ve long recognized the affinity between nursing and the socio-behavioral sciences,” said Jeannine Coreil. “Beginning with my master’s thesis on the culture of nursing students and continuing through collaboration with nursing faculty over the years, I’ve gained a deep appreciation for the nursing profession and its contributions to this field. The selection of my textbook for second place in the community/home health category is most rewarding.”

Learn more about the book: https://titles.cognella.com/social-and-behavioral-foundations-of-public-health-9781793580757

Digital Health and Public and Community Health by Anita Finkelman 

Digital Health and Public and Community Health provides students with an examination of digital health and its integration in public and community health services. Readers learn how digital health systems and initiatives require engagement from a plethora of stakeholders, individual healthcare providers, and interprofessional teams of healthcare providers, including input from health profession education, communities and government, insurers, health policy, health research, and consumers.

The AJN judging panel shared the following comments about the text:

“This clear and concise text explores the critical topic of public health in our post-pandemic world. The author describes how digital health can drive and support the objectives of the public health framework in the community and discusses methods to ensure the delivery of effective digital health services, as well as associated challenges. Public health is often underemphasized in nursing programs; this succinct text is helpful to lay out the key elements of nurses’ use of digital health.”

“The AJN is the oldest continually circulated journal globally, beginning in 1900,” said Anita Finkelman. “It is an honor to receive this publication award from AJN. The first year the awards were given was in 1969, which happens to be the year I graduated from my BSN program. Even then I was aware of this award. This particular recognition of my publication recognizes a critical new topic for the nursing profession and the need to prepare nurses throughout their nursing education experience and long-term professional education and to engage in policy to ensure quality digital health throughout the healthcare delivery system, acute care and public/community health.”

Learn more about the book: https://titles.cognella.com/digital-health-and-public-and-community-health-9781793572851

Spotlighting Narrative Pedagogy in Nursing Education by Susan E. Bassett 

Spotlighting Narrative Pedagogy in Nursing Education fills a void in literature by highlighting the pedagogical application of storytelling within modern nursing education. The incorporation of narrative pedagogy in nursing curriculum aligns with the current movement within the profession to reimagine the ways in which educators can most effectively prepare student nurses to holistically interact, care for, and advocate for their patients.

The AJN judging panel shared the following comments about the text:

“Spotlighting Narrative Pedagogy offers a thorough and comprehensive evidence-based exploration of the use of storytelling as a teaching strategy in nursing education. While storytelling has been informally employed by nurses and nurse educators for generations, its significance as a credible teaching strategy has often lacked thoughtful substantiation. This book takes a deep dive into the many facets of storytelling, acknowledging its power and shedding light on the cognitive processes that occur when listeners engage with stories. It explores the concept of metacognition, the pivotal role of stories in simulation and case studies, and the science behind storytelling and its impact on learning, providing educators with a solid theoretical foundation. Furthermore, the author offers strategies and insights that can be applied in nursing education settings. This book bridges the gap between anecdotal storytelling practices and evidence-based pedagogy, empowering educators to harness the power of narrative in a structured and impactful manner.” 

“This book is making just the impact I was hoping to make in nursing literature and on current nursing education practice,” said Susan Bassett. “For numerous years now I have enjoyed incorporating various strategies for including storytelling into my online graduate nursing courses. These students are all experienced nurses who have ‘seen and done’ so much already in their careers. It seemed like when I asked my students to write exemplars or include personal experiences within their discussion postings, the whole assignment would gain momentum for the individual student as well as their peers who read and commented on their essays. I found it a great way to personalize and exemplify the topics we were studying. It also built a good deal of comradery between students, which is important, but not easy to do, in online teaching.

I also have become a big believer in how much value there is in sharing individual nurses’ stories of impactful caring.  It gives a sense of pride and fulfillment to the nurses who rarely share their successes with anyone.  It elevates the professional esteem of our treasured profession, and it often serves to re-invigorate a weary and overburdened nurse. We are who are stories demonstrate…and we should stand together on those great accomplishments of caring, serving, and advocating for our patients.

I am very pleased with this book winning such an important award, and I am grateful to have this opportunity to support current nursing practice in my beloved career of the past 48 years.”

Learn more about the book: https://titles.cognella.com/spotlighting-narrative-pedagogy-in-nursing-education-9798823308137

Population Health: Practical Skills for Future Health Professionals by Anne M. Hewitt 

Population Health: Practical Skills for Future Health Professionals equips both pre-clinical and management students with a broad and detailed overview of the essential elements of population health. Introductory chapters explain the role and purpose of population health; outline the many events that aligned to form this innovative health care delivery approach; compare and contrast community, public, global, and population health approaches; and describe essential public health tools and skills used for coordinating population health care. Additional chapters explore population health frameworks; essential strategies of health promotion, disease prevention, and wellness; the impacts of social determinants of health and health inequities on population health; and effective measurement and assessment of health service delivery and positive health outcomes.

The AJN judging panel shared the following comments about the text:

“This book presents population health from multiple perspectives and frameworks. It is clearly written and includes relevant and colorful visuals. Each chapter begins with a word cloud that provides an overview of key chapter concepts. Embedded throughout the book are QR codes that link the reader to interesting readings and resources relevant to the chapter content. The complexities and changing landscape of population health are thoroughly discussed.” 

“I am especially thrilled with this prestigious honor as it represents a recognition that all future health professionals, especially nursing, are essential to delivering quality health for all populations,” said Anne Hewitt. “It is a special honor to have this text recognized by one of the most prestigious professional journals in the health professions. Receiving this significant AJN recognition serves to validate my long-term goal of ensuring all pre-health students will benefit from learning the skills necessary for practicing future population health care.”

Learn more about the book: https://titles.cognella.com/population-health-9781793578105

About Cognella®

Cognella® is redefining academic publishing by creating teacher-driven, student-centric higher education course materials in print and digital formats under three imprints: Cognella® Academic Publishing, Cognella® Custom, and Cognella® Active Learning. Cognella also publishes engaging nonfiction titles featuring modern perspectives as Cognella® Press. Learn more at www.cognella.com. 

About The American Journal of Nursing 

The American Journal of Nursing is the oldest and most honored broad-based nursing journal in the world. Peer-reviewed and evidence-based, it is considered the profession’s premier journal. 

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