Recommendations of The National Academy of Medicine 2021 Report

The National Academy of Medicine
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The National Academy of Medicine
Health equity can only be achieved when all people have the chance to attain full health potential without anyone being disadvantaged due to his or her social position or socially determined situations (Rudner, 2021). The 2021 National Academy of Medicine report has various recommendations explaining the significance of health equity. The first suggestion is for national nursing organizations to develop shared goals to meet health equity and address social determinants of health (SDH). By 2023, federal and state government agencies together with public health organizations are expected to initiate substantive actions that help them to address health equity comprehensively (National Academy of Medicine, 2021). Nursing leaders, employers, licensing boards, and nursing education programs should implement systems, evidence-based interventions, and structures to foster caregivers’ health so that they can take their roles in advancing health equity. Private and public healthcare systems are encouraged to incorporate nursing knowledge in generating, designing, applying, and analyzing data to support programs that are focused on achieving health equity and addressing social health determinants using different digital platforms, innovative technologies, and artificial intelligence (National Academy of Medicine, 2021). As such, the report emphasizes health equity since it is the most effective way to improve medical services and promote their accessibility.
The SDH comprises non-medical factors that affect individuals’ health outcomes. Specifically, they are conditions that influence how people live, age, grow, and are born (World Health Organization, 2022). The best examples of SDH include unemployment, education, food insecurity, housing, and health services accessibility. For example, unemployment is a significant SDH that affects health equity. An unemployed person who has no income is likely to lack life necessities, such as food, housing, and clothes. In that light, the individual becomes vulnerable to poor nutrition and cannot afford to have health insurance. When such a person becomes sick, he or she is likely not to seek medical attention due to the lack of money. On that note, the situation of the ill individual might deteriorate due to the lack of food and water to help his or her body fight against the pathogens. As such, unemployment can significantly contribute to health inequity, making it difficult for people to receive quality medical services.
Nurses play significant roles in improving health equity and impacting social needs. The 2021 National Academy of Medicine report portrays that caregivers are on the frontline in fostering health equity and addressing SDH. That is why the second recommendation requires federal and state government agencies and healthcare organizations to support nurses so that they can enhance health equity. For instance, caregivers can determine SDH affects their patients and suggest what to be done. They understand numerous things about their patients that can help promote the latter’s well-being. Nurs...