Pamela H. Cone, PhD, RN, is an associate professor in the Graduate Nursing Department, School of Nursing, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, California. As a Fulbright Scholar in Norway, she studied spiritual care.
Caring for vulnerable persons is a global humanitarian and nursing concern. The Norwegian Kirkens Bymisjon system cares for vulnerable people groups in 40 cities, serving as a model for other countries. In 2009, church-city-mission collaborations in Bergen, Trondheim, and Tromsø were visited; follow-up data were collected in 2014. At each site, a combination of the diaconal organization, the city or municipality, and donors from the private sector identify and establish a governing board, analyze vulnerable groups most in need of service, and build programs to meet needs.