Introduction
In modern society, there are quite a large number of problems that are caused by factors such as race, culture, or socioeconomic status of individuals. In other words, issues concerning such an aspect as equality, as regards both resources and access and outcomes, are of particular concern at the moment. This kind of problem belongs to the field of social justice, which is one of the leading values in healthcare. In particular, it concerns the practice of nurses since the activities of these specialists directly affect the promotion of social justice and the limitation of health disparities.
Why Social Justice Is Important
There are several reasons why social justice is fundamental to nursing. First of all, this is because these healthcare professionals are carriers of the core values of their profession. This aspect implies an equal right to receive medical services, regardless of such characteristics as culture, nation, or religion. For a nurse, there should be no differences between patients that would contribute to changing their treatment. For these professionals, values such as the well-being of individuals and society should come first. Thus, it can be said that nurses are one of the prominent advocates of social justice in healthcare.
Another reason social justice becomes a fundamental part of nursing practice is to help limit the most pressing problems in modern society. Thus, the different degrees of access to medical services become central. Several factors can contribute to this, including “lower socioeconomic status, cultural and power differences, education, vulnerability, and substandard living conditions” (Davis et al., 2020, p. 723). It becomes necessary for medical nurses to take part in initiatives that will encourage the expansion of accessibility and opportunities for individuals to receive qualified care. Thus, social justice is implemented by limiting possible barriers for individuals.
Social justice is valuable for the nurse’s procession as it promotes and strengthens ethics. In particular, it concerns the decision-making process in a healthcare environment. When building values based on the patient’s well-being, it is also necessary to focus on the work processes of specialists. Thus, nurses in this context become advocates for fair and just treatment for all groups of the population.
Relationship Between Social Justice and Diversity
Social justice and diversity function together to achieve the most productive healthcare outcomes. Hence, as already noted, to ensure the latter, it is necessary to apply measures that will limit such problems as discrimination or bias. In medical practice, many examples provide a more complete understanding of this topic.
Hence, in my personal experience, I came across the fact that a representative of a low-income group of the population was denied primary services because of their socioeconomic status. I believe that in this case, it was possible not to refuse to help an individual immediately, allow bias to take over, and make hasty conclusions about the socioeconomic conditions of a person.
Another aspect worth paying attention to is patient- and family-centered care. For nurses, the task is not only to provide services that will focus on the fight against the disease. In healthcare, the people who receive this assistance have no less critical value. Research stated that patient-centered care “involves continuous and holistic knowledge of patients as people, their families, their social world, and the communities in which they live and work” (Robinson et al., 2021, p. 102). The same can be said about family-centered care, which implies the involvement of family members to receive the most favorable outcomes of care.
When discussing diversity, it is necessary to pay special attention to such a phenomenon as cultural competence. In other words, to maintain and promote diversity, medical professionals, such as nurses, must have a high awareness of different cultures. This will provide a complete understanding of their barriers and how they can be mitigated. In addition, cultural competence is essential when providing patient- and family-centered care. This characteristic includes understanding, respecting, and incorporating the cultural backgrounds of patients and their families to enhance treatment outcomes.
Barriers to Providing Social Justice Care
The leading barrier that social justice care can hinder a diverse population is bias or discrimination by health care workers. This aspect may be related to such characteristics of individuals as race, gender, culture, or worldview (Travers et al., 2020). The main problem is the fact that discrimination by healthcare workers can lead to limited access to essential services and exacerbate health disparities. This issue, in turn, can cause a deterioration in the health indicators of the population and a decrease in society’s overall quality of life. Barriers to social justice, such as discrimination and bias, are complex and, in turn, require a multi-step approach to eliminate this problem.
Recommendations for Health Promotion Activities
Because the main problem that causes barriers to social justice care is discrimination, the target audience will be considered racial minorities. To provide health promotion activities for a selected population, it is necessary, first of all, to take measures that will contribute to improving employees’ education levels. This aspect implies training to increase nurses’ cultural awareness and competence. In the future, this process will positively impact reducing the number of problems associated with bias and discrimination. To monitor the implementation of cultural competence, conducting a specialized assessment that will provide a more complete understanding of the degree of cultural awareness among employees and increase social justice is possible.
Conclusion
In conclusion, such a phenomenon as social justice is a fundamental part of the practice of nurses. This is because it helps to reduce barriers such as discrimination and bias, which can lead to an increase in health disparities and the degree of equality. This is also due to the promotion of the core values of the profession of a medical nurse, which requires respect for patients. Social justice implies expanding the availability of medical services for all population groups, increasing awareness, and providing such essential characteristics as patient- and family-centered care. Therefore, social justice is one of the most critical factors in the work of medical nurses.
References
Davis, R. K., Grobbel, C., Mallette, C., & Poly‐Droulard, L. (2020). Social justice as an expression of caring through holistic admissions in a nursing program: A proposed conceptual model. In Nursing Forum (55(4), pp.723-729). Web.
Robinson, S. K., Meisnere, M., Phillips Jr, R. L., McCauley, L., & National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2021). Person-centered, family-centered, and community-oriented primary care. In Implementing High-Quality Primary Care: Rebuilding the Foundation of Health Care. National Academies Press (US). Web.
Travers, J. L., Teitelman, A. M., Jenkins, K. A., & Castle, N. G. (2020). Exploring social‐based discrimination among nursing home certified nursing assistants. Nursing Inquiry, 27(1). Web.