Equality, equity, and distributional justice in nursing: Ageism and other impediments

Abstract

The nursing profession has a moral imperative to promote health equity. Notions of equity and problems of justice have been troubling scholars, academics, and policymakers for a long time, but can the same be said about clinical professionals or patients? It is important to examine their standpoint, both in the context of the recent pandemic's pressing circumstances and in their normal routine within health care systems. The first goal of this chapter is to provide a brief theoretical and historical account of equality, equity, and distributional justice. Then, it turns to examine their significance for health services and caring professions, as well as the ways in which distributional justice aims at correcting health inequities. Inequities are influenced by a number of factors, which are also mentioned, but the main debate focuses on the issue of age discrimination in resource allocation and the problems it creates, in an attempt to show that equity, in its strict sense, is an unattainable ideal. The nurses' role and its relation to equity-related goals need to be constantly subject to consideration and re-examination.