Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #113259

Jeanne M. Leffers, PhD, RN, College of Nursing, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747, 508-999-8581, jleffers@umassd.edu

Public health nurses have a long history as advocates of social justice, particularly for access to care, fairness in the provision of care and advocacy for the poor, disenfranchised, minority or immigrant populations. In the current health care climate, our voices have become more vocal to return to the model set by Lillian Wald and other social reformers to improve the health of populations. At APHA annual meetings, nurses and other health partners challenge the public health sector to support, advocate and work for social change. Many nurses have the will for this effort but struggle to seek ways to instill it into their everyday work. In a graduate nursing course for not only community health nurses but also those in the nurse practitioner and adult health nursing tracks, students grapple with these issues as they examine collaboration and the continuum of care for improving health. Exciting debates between nurses from acute care, intensive care, and emergency settings as well as community settings engage nurses to become advocates for social justice. The students collaborate to identify strategies for incorporating social justice aims into their work environment. Course topics address issues such as vulnerability, diversity, health literacy, health care access, health care disparities and issues of particular populations such as ethnic and racial minority health, gay and lesbian health and the health of children, women and older adults. Participants adopt social justice as their personal mission to join their voices with our own. To achieve the aims of a just, accessible, affordable health care system for all, public health nurses must engage our professional colleagues from other disciplines to adopt this cause.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the presentation the participant will be able to

• Describe social justice aims for nursing.
• Discuss strategies to engage nurses in advocacy for social justice.
• Apply educational strategies for nursing to learn to promote social justice aims in community and acute care settings.

Keywords: Social Justice, Nursing Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation