Social Justice Paper and Letter

NURS 472 - Community Health Nursing II

Purpose of Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to allow the student the opportunity to complete an
analysis of a public health issue from a social justice perspective. According to the American
Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) (2008), baccalaureate nursing students should
develop cultural competence which can contribute to reducing health disparities and promote
social justice. Discuss a current public health concern from a social justice perspective. Write a
letter to either advocate for a vulnerable population or educate the public on an issue affecting
public health.

Student Approach to Assignment

In this assignment, I wanted to display how food insecurity is a social justice issue
worldwide and even effects people in the U.S. as there are disparities in who has access to
healthy foods. In my letter, I also advocated for vulnerable populations of food insecure
individuals and families.

Reason for Inclusion of the Assignment in the Portfolio

This assignment gave me an opportunity to change the public perception about food
insecurity because it can happen to anyone at any time. I also wanted to spread awareness about
the negative effects that food insecurity has on the community and provide recommendations to
reduce food insecurity.

 Culture
 Integrates knowledge of cultural diversity in performing nursing interventions.
 In my social justice assignment, I found various factors that contribute to an
individual's food insecurity and subsequent poor health. To reduce food insecurity,
healthcare providers should identify the factors preventing people in their community
from accessing nutritious food. I found it important for healthcare providers to
eliminate stigma associated with the use of federal assistance and food pantries.
Using the Transcultural Nursing Theory, healthcare providers can try to understand
the cultural background of their community and if certain food assistance programs
are not being used due to cultural beliefs or stigmas. Older populations are avoiding
the use of benefits programs in what is believed to be caused by stigma; in 2013, only
41% of likely eligible seniors were enrolled in SNAP (National Council on Aging,
2016).
 Considers the impact of research outcomes and, the effects of health and social policies,
on persons from diverse backgrounds
 Example: In my social justice assignment, I stated that food insecurity can affect
different people at various times in their life; it can affect a couple that just had a
baby, a family whose head of the household lost their job due to a disability, or an
individual that lost their home due to a natural disaster; these people may have a
moment where they cannot afford to purchase healthy, nutritious foods. Research has
shown that food interventions through food pantries have had a positive influence on
glycemic control in diabetes patients (Seligman et al., 2015). A study conducted on
 diabetic food pantry clients where they were provided with diabetic food boxes, blood
sugar monitoring, and primary care referrals, resulted in a decrease of their mean
hemoglobin A1c from 8.11 percent to 7.96 percent over a 6-month period (Seligman
et al., 2015). However, food insecurity also parallels with medical insurance coverage
and the ability for individuals to afford the costs of both. A study conducted on adults
with chronic illness found that adults that reported being food insecure had higher
reports of medication noncompliance due to medication cost factors (Berkowitz et al.,
2014). Food insecure individuals were also found to be deficient in public and non-
Medicaid insurance coverage (Berkowitz et al., 2014). Preventative measures such as
nutrition education and teaching the community healthy eating habits and teaching
management of diabetes is an important step towards improving health outcomes and
reducing hospitalization costs.
 Maintains an awareness of global environmental factors that may influence the delivery
of health care services
 Example: In writing my social justice paper and letter, I conveyed that lack of access
to nutritious food and food insecurity is a global epidemic. In 2017, 11.8% of all U. S.
household were food insecure. Many of the food insecure population live in areas
where healthy food is unavailable or expensive and the foods they have access to are
deficient in nutrients. Globally, the prevalence of undernourished people was 10.9%
whereas in the U.S. and Canada is less than 2.5%.