Social Justice as a Tool to Eliminate Inequities in Kidney Disease

Kidney disease has disparate effects on racial and ethnic minority groups, who have higher rates of chronic kidney disease and generally poorer outcomes. These disparate rates and outcomes have been attributed to social determinants of health; however, these social determinants of health are related to governmental and societal structural barriers that have created inequities not only in kidney disease, but also in other chronic diseases and in maternal/fetal health outcomes. The societal barriers to health equity include income inequality, inadequate education, environmental injustice, mass incarceration, and the enduring effects of the legacy of slavery. The approach to reducing disparities in kidney outcomes must be viewed through the lens of social justice to address these societal barriers.