Nurses play a vital role in racial equity and equality in direct care, advocacy, and research.

Direct care

In direct care, nurses can promote racial equity and equality by:

• Providing culturally competent care: This means understanding and respecting the patient’s cultural values, beliefs, and practices. Nurses can do this by asking patients about their cultural background and preferences, and by using culturally appropriate language and terminology.
• Advocating for patients of color: Nurses can advocate for patients of color by speaking out against racism and discrimination, and by ensuring that patients have access to the resources and care they need. For example, nurses can advocate for patients of color by helping them to enroll in health insurance programs, or by assisting them to find culturally appropriate providers.
• Educating patients about health disparities: Nurses can educate patients of color about the health disparities that exist and how they can reduce their risk of developing chronic diseases. For example, nurses can teach patients of color about the importance of early detection and treatment of chronic diseases, or they can provide them with information about healthy eating and exercise.

Advocacy opportunities

Nurses can also promote racial equity and equality through advocacy. Nurses can advocate for racial equity and equality in the following ways:

• Working with policymakers to develop and implement policies that address health disparities: Nurses can work with policymakers to develop and implement policies that address the root causes of health disparities, such as poverty, discrimination, and lack of access to healthcare. For example, nurses can advocate for policies that expand access to affordable healthcare, or that invest in communities of color.
• Educating the public about health disparities: Nurses can educate the public about the health disparities that exist and how they can help to reduce them. For example, nurses can give talks and presentations on health disparities, or they can write articles and blog posts about the topic.
• Volunteering with organizations that are working to promote racial equity and equality: Nurses can volunteer with organizations that are working to promote racial equity and equality in healthcare and beyond. For example, nurses can volunteer with organizations that are working to improve access to healthcare for people of color, or that are working to address racism in the criminal justice system.

Research

Nurses can also promote racial equity and equality through research. Nurses can conduct research to identify the root causes of health disparities and to develop interventions to address them. Nurses can also conduct research to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to promote racial equity and equality.

Here are some specific examples of how nurses can conduct research to promote racial equity and equality:

• Conduct research to identify the factors that contribute to health disparities in different racial and ethnic groups. For example, nurses could conduct research to identify the factors that contribute to the higher rates of infant mortality among Black babies.
• Develop and evaluate interventions to address health disparities in different racial and ethnic groups. For example, nurses could develop and evaluate an intervention to improve access to prenatal care for Black women.
• Conduct research to evaluate the effectiveness of different policies and programs in addressing health disparities. For example, nurses could conduct research to evaluate the effectiveness of a new policy that expands access to Medicaid for low-income adults.

Nurses play a critical role in promoting racial equity and equality in healthcare. By providing culturally competent care, advocating for patients of color, and conducting research to address health disparities, nurses can help to create a more just and equitable healthcare system for all.