Social Justice and Financial Planning: A National Survey of Public Health Curricula in US Nursing Programs

Background: Little is known about how financial planning is taught in Public Health Nursing (PHN) curricula. This is important to ascertain as knowledge and awareness of how to maximize scarce resources is a vital skill in a socially just public health infrastructure. Financial planning is foundational to solving foreseeable problems and influencing policy decisions. The New York Public Health Summit Workgroup, whose goal is to develop a strong academic/workforce partnership, was concerned about how financial planning was taught in the PHN curricula of Baccalaureate granting programs. Purpose: The aim of this national study was to identify how BSN programs integrated Quad Council recommendations of financial planning into PHN curricula, within a framework of social justice. Methods: A descriptive study surveyed BSN programs in the United States (n=273), and identified how public health curricula integrated the Quad Council domain of financial planning. Results: Sixty percent of respondents reported they do not teach financial planning in their PHN or nursing curricula. No teaching strategies for financial planning were identified by respondents. Over 88% of the sample reported they teach within a social justice framework. Conclusions: There is little evidence that financial planning is being taught in nursing curricula. Lack of awareness of financial planning creates ethical concerns in access to care and allocation of public health resources. Social justice in public health can only be achieved when nurses can influence national health care mechanisms. Knowledge in financial planning is vital to achieving this goal. Complete results and implications will be presented.