A call for health justice: Striving toward health equity at a community health center

Abstract

AbstractCommunity health centers play a key role in promoting health justice and equity. Health justice, which is the attainment of health equity, or the fair, unambiguous, and non‐arbitrary distribution of all health resources necessary for optimal health of the individual, family, and community, is necessary to optimize their wellbeing and to build healthy communities. Community‐based health centers are well‐positioned to lead in these efforts, as they connect with, seek to understand, and innovatively serve communities that experience complex health‐related needs and are differentially impacted by structural vulnerabilities (i.e., racism). The purpose of this article is to present a nurse‐led model of culturally responsive health care that is rooted in partnerships designed to address medical and health‐related social needs. Current health inequities in the United States across constructs of race and socioeconomic status warrant comprehensive healthcare models that explicitly incorporate health justice, trauma‐informed, and antiracist approaches into practice, especially when serving high/complex‐need and under‐resourced communities. Foundationally, it is imperative that these models of care strive toward equity regarding access to compassionate, affordable, culturally relevant health care; center community members' voices and guidance; promote growth and development of staff in understanding structural barriers and act to dismantle them; and create learning opportunities for students and staff to understand and address social determinants of health to provide high‐quality care, with an ultimate goal to improve community health.