Critical pedagogy in public health nursing education

The position of nurses in relationship to oppression is complex. We are simultaneously oppressed and oppressive in our relationships with those we serve. Public health nurses seek health equity by addressing the root causes of poor health.  Unfortunately, public health nursing education often fails to link health problems with their antecedent political and ideological origins. As a result, nurses are exposed daily to some of the worst violence committed against oppressed groups yet we are not conscious of the reasons behind what we observe in our work.  We are thus not equipped to challenge the systems that inflict violence on our patients. Public health nursing education has the potential to further perpetuate this oppression as well as to liberate. 

           The work of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire is helpful in understanding both our identity as an oppressed and oppressor group, and the role of nursing education as a factor in our oppression as well as our liberation.  The work to be presented is a Freirean analysis of public health nursing education and practice. 

            Freirean ideas such as the political nature of education, the role of questioning, and respect for popular knowledge have clear applications to public health nursing education and practice.  A Freirean understanding of the impact of the environment would bring a new perspective to the discourse around social determinants of health.  Overall, application of Freire’s ideas to public health nursing education and practice has the potential to bring us closer to our goal of health equity.