• To familiarise yourself with health inequalities and social determinants of health
• To understand the role of public policies in addressing health inequalities
• To be aware of how addressing health inequalities can improve health outcomes
This article aims to improve nurses’ knowledge and understanding of health inequalities. Health inequalities are responsible for variation in health outcomes observed across different population groups. Therefore, it is essential that nurses have an understanding of the health inequalities that can occur, and their causes. This knowledge will enable nurses to address the challenges that health inequalities can create in nursing practice. This article raises awareness of this important aspect of care, so that nurses can successfully identify and address the health inequalities that they encounter in their practice, thus enabling a holistic approach to patient care.
Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2019.e11341
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software
CorrespondenceAgi.mcfarland@gcu.ac.uk@AgiMcfarland
Conflict of interestNone declared
McFarland A, MacDonald E (2019) Role of the nurse in identifying and addressing health inequalities. Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2019.e11341
Published online: 21 March 2019
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