Social justice as a framework for professional nursing

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Public Health
• Social Determinants of Health

Background:

• Persistent health disparities are linked to societal inequality.
• Current research often documents rather than addresses these trends.
• Nurses are urged to adopt a social justice agenda to combat health inequities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the integration of social justice as a framework in professional nursing education.
• To prepare future nurses to address health concerns stemming from societal structures.
• To highlight the importance of social justice in nursing curricula.

Main Methods:

• Described the structure of a nursing course incorporating social justice concepts.
• Outlined the pedagogical approaches used to teach social justice in nursing.
• Focused on linking social justice principles to professional nursing practice.

Main Results:

• The course successfully integrated social justice into professional nursing concepts.
• Educational strategies were developed to teach social justice within nursing.
• The importance of this integration for future nursing practice was emphasized.

Conclusions:

• Integrating social justice into nursing education is essential for addressing health disparities.
• Equipping nurses with social justice principles can lead to improved population health.
• More equal societal relationships correlate with stabilized health indicators across diverse groups.