Racial Disparities in Nursing
摘要
This chapter explores the profound impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on health outcomes and healthcare access. It highlights how poverty, income inequality, and resource distribution shape chronic illness, mental health, and mortality (World Health Organization, Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health: Final report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. WHO. WHO Report, 2008). Nurses are positioned as frontline witnesses to these inequities, encountering barriers such as medication affordability, food insecurity, and limited access to care. The chapter emphasizes the ethical obligation of nurses to address SES-related disparities through advocacy and systemic change (American Nurses Association, Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. ANA, 2015). Strategies for reducing socioeconomic inequities are discussed, including policy reform, community-based interventions, and interdisciplinary collaboration.