Using Policy to Combat SDOH: Establishing Coalitions in Low-Resource Communities
There are approximately 4.4 million registered nurses in the United States. The recent pandemic confirmed that there is no health or healthcare without nurses. Now, more than any other time in the history of nursing is it important that nurses recognize and use their power as a voice for advocacy and change. Nurses need to continue to advocate for the patients that they care for, but they also need to understand the need to advocate for themselves and for the profession as a whole. Given the large nursing workforce, nurses should recognize their ability to influence and drive change. In this chapter, the readers are provided examples of successful advocacy initiatives to promote community health and well-being. There is discussion about the need to understand, strategize, and plan advocacy efforts that will garner the trust of the community and promote better health outcomes. If the future of the nursing profession is to be sustained and governed by nurses, nurses must be encouraged to become politically active, whether in their professional association(s), as a consultant to a political campaign, or by running for office.
