The Role of Nurses in Advancing Healthcare Equity and Quality of Care : A Scoping Review

Health equity is a primary principle of healthcare delivery, aiming to ensure that all healthcare recipients have access to quality healthcare equally, regardless of their social, demographic, and economic characteristics. The current paper explores the role of nurses in advancing healthcare equity and quality of care. A scoping review was conducted to investigate the relevant international and national articles in major databases, including CINAHL, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, EBSCO, and SCOPUS, using relevant keywords such as "Health Equity," "Quality of Care," and "Role of Nurses." The review highlighted that, as nurses are the frontline healthcare providers in diverse healthcare settings, their roles extend beyond routine healthcare to incorporate more advanced roles in health education, advocacy, and support services, significantly improving access, quality, and equity in healthcare. Several barriers and issues have limited nurses' impact in reducing disparities, but other strategies could be employed to address them. They include telehealth and school-based health centrer. Nursing professionals are in an exceptional position to be transformative in achieving health equity and delivering good quality and accessible healthcare to all individuals and communities.