Advancing Birth Equity in a Post-Dobbs US.

This Viewpoint discusses the US Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, describes how that decision threatens birth equity for some racial and social groups, and suggests a reproductive justice approach to address racial and social inequalities and ensure reproductive freedom and autonomy for all people.

Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Improves Access to Care and Healthcare Quality to Advance Health Equity.

ABSTRACT: Healthcare disparites exist in cardiovascular care, including heart failure. Care that is not equitable can lead to higher incidence of heart failure, increased readmissions, and poorer outcomes. The Heart Failure Transitional Care Services for Adults Clinic is an interprofessional collaborative practice that provides guideline-directed medical therapy and education to underserved patients with heart failure. Little is known regarding healthcare equity and quality metrics in relation to interprofessional teams. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine if an interprofessional collaborative practice care delivery model can affect access to care and healthcare quality outcomes in underserved patients with heart failure. As evidenced by control charts over a two and a half year period, the Heart Failure Transitional Care Services for Adults Clinic was able to show improvements in access to care and quality metrics results without variation. An interprofessional collaborative practice can be an effective delivery model to address health equity and quality of care outcomes.

COVID-19 and global equity for health: The good, the bad, and the wicked.

Elvin Geng and co-authors discuss monitoring and achieving equity in provision of vaccines for COVID-19.

Dental Therapists in the United States: Health Equity, Advancing.

BACKGROUND: Dental therapists (DTs) are primary care dental providers, used globally, and were introduced in the United States (US) in 2005. DTs have now been adopted in 13 states and several Tribal nations. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to qualitatively examine the drivers and outcomes of the US dental therapy movement through a health equity lens, including community engagement, implementation and dissemination, and access to oral health care. METHODS: The study compiled a comprehensive document library on the dental therapy movement including literature, grant documents, media and press, and gray literature. Key stakeholder interviews were conducted across the spectrum of engagement in the movement. Dedoose software was used for qualitative coding. Themes were assessed within a holistic model of oral health equity. FINDINGS: Health equity is a driving force for dental therapy adoption. Community engagement has been evident in diverse statewide coalitions. National accreditation standards for education programs that can be deployed in 3 years without an advanced degree reduces educational barriers for improving workforce diversity. Safe, high-quality care, improvements in access, and patient acceptability have been well documented for DTs in practice. CONCLUSION: Having firmly taken root politically, the impact of the dental therapy movement in the US, and the long-term health impacts, will depend on the path of implementation and a sustained commitment to the health equity principle.

Preventing Violence to Achieve Peaceful and Inclusive Societies.

This article is one in a series in which contributing authors discuss how the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are linked to everyday clinical issues; national public health emergencies; and other nursing issues, such as leadership, shared governance, and advocacy. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a 15-year plan of action to achieve the goals, was unanimously adopted by all UN member states in September 2015 and took effect on January 1, 2016. The Agenda consists of 17 SDGs addressing social, economic, and environmental determinants of health and 169 associated targets focused on five themes: people, planet, peace, prosperity, and partnership. The SDGs build on the work of the UN Millennium Development Goals, which were in effect from 2000 to 2015. The current article highlights SDG 16: "Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels."