The role of nurses in addressing health inequities in the UK

Health inequality or inequity?
In healthcare, the term health ‘inequality’ is often used to describe differences that exist between communities in terms of health access, status and outcomes. However, focusing on equality (treating people the same) is problematic, for example, sending two people a letter about a forthcoming appointment (equality), yet one of them cannot read. As such, we need to move towards a focus on equity, where we consider and address individual needs (such as literacy in the case above) to ensure that no-one is left behind (United Nations, 2015). In order to achieve equity, we need to consider the wider social determinants of health including income/wealth, food, education, water/sanitation, employment, health care, and the built/natural environment (Marmot and Bell, 2018).
Social exclusion and health inequity
There is a link between social exclusion (degree to which people able to participate in society) and inequity, affecting
To view the rest of this content login below; or read sample articles.