Nursing is a health equity and social justice movement

Nursing has been grounded in the pursuit of health equity and social justice for over 100 years. Escalating health care costs, COVID-19, and racial conflict have spotlighted the impact of our social and health inequities and the interconnectedness of everyone's health. This study discusses two key nursing movements for health and social justice, the public health nursing movement and the nurse practitioner movement. This study also describes how the re-emerging focus on population health nursing and the increasing nurse activism are building on our history of addressing the social and environmental root causes of ill health. Changes in health care design, delivery, and payment will create more opportunities for population health nursing to continue nursing's long-standing efforts in pursuit of health equity and social justice.