This book examines the structural forces shaping inequities within healthcare and highlights the essential role nurses play in addressing them. While nursing is often associated with compassion and service, the book brings forward the complex realities of racism, ableism, sexism, classism, and the exclusion of neurodiverse individuals that remain embedded in everyday practice. It offers a clear and grounded analysis of these issues, drawing on current research to illuminate how they manifest in clinical settings and influence patient outcomes, professional interactions, and institutional policies.
Rather than presenting social justice as an abstract ideal, the book emphasizes its practical relevance for contemporary nursing. It explores how biasesboth individual and systemicaffect the delivery of care, and it illustrates the ways inequities contribute to disparities in mental health, chronic illness, and access to essential services. Through reflective guidance and applied examples, readers are encouraged to question assumptions, examine practice environments, and consider how meaningful advocacy can be integrated into routine clinical work.
This book supports nurses in strengthening their capacity to respond to inequity with clarity and purpose. It provides a framework for understanding how social justice and nursing intersect, and it underscores the professions influence in shaping more inclusive and responsive healthcare systems. By bringing to light the challenges as well as the possibilities for change, this book offers readers a thoughtful and substantive resource for promoting equity in practice, education, and policy.
About the Author .- . Dedication.- Part I: Foundations of Social Justice
in Nursing.
Chapter 1: Introduction to Social Justice in Nursing.- .
Chapter
2: Ableism and Disability Rights in Nursing.- .
Chapter 3: Racial Disparities
in Nursing.- Part II: Systemic Inequities and Contemporary Challenges.
Chapter 4: Gender Equity and Discrimination.- .
Chapter 5: LGBTQ+
Inclusivity.- .
Chapter 6: Socioeconomic Inequalities.- .
Chapter 7: Mental
Health Stigma.- Part III: Advocacy, Practice, and Future Directions.
Chapter
8: Advocating for Change.- .
Chapter 9: Advocating for Independence of Nurse
Practitioners in the U.S..- . Conclusion.
Naz Nami is a seasoned Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) with more than a decade of clinical nursing experience and a dedicated advocate for neurodiversity, inclusion, and health equity. As an immigrant, lifelong learner, and autistic woman professional, she brings both lived experience and clinical expertise to her work, shaping a perspective grounded in resilience, authenticity, and person-centered care.
Naz began her academic journey at UC Berkeley before earning her nursing degree at Johns Hopkins University, where she developed a strong foundation in evidence-based practice and patient advocacy. She went on to complete her Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner degree at Boston College and is currently pursuing a PhD in Nursing Science. Her doctoral research focuses on developing inclusive and anti-ableist models of care that better support neurodivergent populations.
Deeply committed to justice and equity, Nazs work integrates clinical practice, research, and advocacy. Her identity as an autistic clinician informs her approach to care, emphasizing respect for diverse ways of thinking, communicating, and experiencing the world. Whether providing direct patient care, contributing to academic scholarship, or advocating for systemic change, she is dedicated to advancing healthcare systems that are accessible, equitable, and affirming for all individuals particularly those with neurodevelopmental and psychiatric differences.
