What can nurses do to address structural racism?
Social determinates of health such as income, education, access and quality of healthcare, and the environment disproportionately affect people of color. Nurses can advocate for national, state, and local policies that improve health outcomes such as guaranteed minimum income, full-time school nurses, full practice authority of nurses, Housing First, and support for the ACA and Medicaid that can eliminate systemic and structural racism.
Recommended reading: Kuehnert, P., Fawcett, J., DePriest, K., Chinn, P., Cousin, L., Ervin, N., ... & Waite, R. (2022). Defining the social determinants of health for nursing action to achieve health equity: A consensus paper from the American Academy of Nursing. Nursing Outlook, 70(1), 10-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2021.08.003
