Public health’s focus has historically been on the underserved. However, meeting the needs of vulnerable populations has become harder as society and the state remain preoccupied with individual freedom and economic development. Equal access to the rewards of the marketplace based on individual efforts and rights, clash with actions that seek to reduce conditions of inequity. Public health departments, ever in the watchful gaze of the tax-paying public, struggle in a robust national economy. Caught up in the drive to be more cost efficient, public health often turns to managed care models for delivery of services, or reduces and/or eliminates services. For example, in Washington State a recently passed initiative has reduced county health departments’ funding and is leading to the closing of clinics and the loss of a variety of health services. The purpose of this presentation is to examine the disjunctures between a public health goal of social justice and a goal of economic efficiency. Questions considered are: can public health meet its mandate of addressing social injustices, through market-driven ventures, such as managed care? Can the public health’s objective of lessening health inequalities be met in an environment replete with slogans such as “she/he with the most toys, wins”? What is public health nursing’s role in addressing social inequities? Examples from Washington State will illustrate the lack of linkage between the principle of social justice and its operationlization in the current health care delivery system.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, the learner will be able to: 1. Identify dilemmas of having economic efficiency and social justice as concurrent public health goals 2. Describe possible actions PHNs can take in reducing health inequalities and inequities
Keywords: Public Health Nursing, Social Justice
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.