No Health Equity Without Diversity: Strengthening Nursing Programs in Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Abstract

In April 2022, Adtalem Global Education sponsored a virtual summit entitled Advancing Equity in Healthcare, in which several of the authors of this article and other prominent health-care professionals examined the need to diversify the health-care profession. Topics included educational justice and its impact on health care, the business case for transforming and advancing health equity, and addressing systemic inequities and improving health outcomes for historically marginalized persons. The summit inspired the authors to write this paper to advocate for authentic, sustainable partnerships led by Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as a means to diversify nursing leadership and to stem systemic and structural inequities in health care.