Module Components

• Overview

Topics

• Ethics and Social Justice
• Social Determinants of Health
• Racial Injustice
• Global Inequality

NRSG 780 - Health Promotion and Population Health

Module 6: Social Justice and the Social Determinants of Health

Overview

“The do-no-harm approach to responsibility alone will do wonders if we stop shaping and re-enforcing the social conditions that, foreseeably and avoidably, cause the monumental suffering of the poor.”

Wendy Austin, RN, MEd, PhD, “On being ethical in a global community: what is a nurse to do?” (2008)

The purpose of this module is to provide an overview of the concepts of social justice, health equity and human rights. The module will emphasize the Framework for Action on the Social Determinants of Health (SDH)-- the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work and age, and the systems put in place to deal with illness. These circumstances are further shaped by a wider set of forces: economics, social policies, and politics – at both local and global levels. Understanding the multidimensional social conditions of individual clients, families, households, and communities, will enhance the capacity to develop effective, innovative and meaningful health interventions for populations in most need. Health professionals can mobilize and address how current resources are being distributed and advocate for policies supporting social justice and health.

Objectives

At the conclusion of this module, the learner will be able to:

• Explain the relationship between professional ethics, social justice and health equity
• Discuss the Framework for Action on the Social Determinants of Health and its importance in addressing health disparities and working towards health equity
• Assess how social injustices related to class, race and gender and how social injustices have an impact on population health outcomes
• Identify ways to integrate a social justice approach into advanced practice and to become advocates for communities and populations with critical health needs

Required Readings

• Braveman, P., S. Egerter, and D. Williams. (2011). The social determinants of health: Coming of age. Annual Review of Public Health, 32, 381-98. Retrieved from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031210-101218?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed (This is a seminal overview article; Dr. Braveman is Professor of Family and Community Health and Director of the Center on Social Disparities in Health at the University of California San Francisco and Dr, Williams is Professor and Chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard School of Public Health and Professor of African and African American Studies and Sociology at Harvard University.)
• Healthy People 2030 Social Determinants of Health  Retrieved from:  https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/social-determinants-health

Recommended Readings

• Rudner, N (2021) Nursing is a health equity and social justice movement. Public Health Nursing 38(4)687-691. Available through the UMB Health Science and Human Services Library at https://ares.hshsl.umaryland.edu/.

• WHO Social determinants of health (2021) Retrieved from https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health#tab=tab_1
• To learn more about Dr. Braveman’s work on health equity and social determinants of health, please review https://profiles.ucsf.edu/paula.braveman
• To learn more about Dr. William’s work on social influences on health, please review https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/david-williams/

Directions

Read the module and suggested readings within the module. There is no discussion board for this module so that you can work on your paper.