Abstract

Nursing education nationwide has integrated Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) into curricula to prepare future healthcare providers to address inequities and improve outcomes. While understanding SDoH is essential for equitable care, nurses’ own beliefs—shaped by personal experiences and environments—can influence practice behaviors and perpetuate disparities (Egede, Walker & Williams, 2024). This qualitative descriptive pilot study explored perceptions of healthcare as a right or privilege, examining how personal beliefs intersect with SDoH and bad science which ultimately impact healthcare outcomes (Bandura, 1971). Using an unstructured survey distributed via email, 110 responses were received, with 64 healthcare professionals and first responders included in the analysis. Findings revealed a divide concerning healthcare as a right or privilege that may have pointed back to the participant’s own social determinants (Braun & Clarke, 2022). Not all providers view healthcare as a right; some perceive it as a privilege (McCleod, 2024). For example, misinformation about individual responsibility for health which is not always evidence-based and may lead providers to discount barriers which are buried in the system such as poverty, education, residential location, job availability and access to care (CDC, 2024). Information underpinning right vs privilege in access to health care can affect patient outcomes. This study supports healthcare providers being attentive to how they view healthcare; is it a right or privilege. Integrating strategies that challenge flawed assumptions and promote evidence-based understanding of SDoH can promote better healthcare outcomes because willingly or unwillingly receiving underserved populations into the healthcare system and choosing whether to provide ethical care could affect health care outcomes and perpetuate bad science (Healthy People 2030, n.d.). Ultimately, when nurses reflect on their own perceptions and dismantle personal beliefs which may be perpetuated in bad science, they are better equipped to deliver evidence-based patient-centered care to all populations. This study highlights the importance of aligning nursing practice with accurate science and equity-driven principles embedded in the effects of social determinants to improve health outcomes across diverse populations.

Notes

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References:

Bandura, A. (1971). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bandura A. (1965). Influence of models' reinforcement contingencies on the acquisition of imitative responses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.:589–595

Center for Disease Control. (2024) Social Determinants of Health. https://www.cdc.gov/about/priorities/why-is-addressing-sdoh-important.html

Egede, L. E., Walker, R. J., & Williams, J. S. (2024). Addressing Structural Inequalities, Structural Racism, and Social Determinants of Health: a Vision for the Future. Journal of general internal medicine, 39(3), 487–491. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-023-08426-7

Healthy People 2030. (n.d.). Social Determinants of Health.
https://odphp.health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health

Description

Expect to gain a different lens concerning your beliefs about health care as a right or a privilege.

Participants will be placed in groups of 4: Participants will be asked to research most chronic diseases treated in their area; discuss possibilities for personal beliefs on right to healthcare vs privilege to health care relevant to care access, disease chronicity e.g jobs, healthcare access, SDoH

How does a belief about healthcare being a right or privilege drive your servicing of patients?

Author Details

Dianne McAdams-Jones, EdD, RN, CHSE, SFHEA, ANEF

Sigma Membership

Gamma Rho, Iota Iota

Type

Presentation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Descriptive/Correlational

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Ethics, Social Determinants of Health, Health Equity, Health Services Accessibility, Medical Care, Human Rights, Civil Rights

Conference Name

37th International Nursing Research Congress

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Conference Year

2026

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2026-09-30

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Social Determinants of Health: Beliefs About Healthcare as a Right or a Privilege

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Nursing education nationwide has integrated Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) into curricula to prepare future healthcare providers to address inequities and improve outcomes. While understanding SDoH is essential for equitable care, nurses’ own beliefs—shaped by personal experiences and environments—can influence practice behaviors and perpetuate disparities (Egede, Walker & Williams, 2024). This qualitative descriptive pilot study explored perceptions of healthcare as a right or privilege, examining how personal beliefs intersect with SDoH and bad science which ultimately impact healthcare outcomes (Bandura, 1971). Using an unstructured survey distributed via email, 110 responses were received, with 64 healthcare professionals and first responders included in the analysis. Findings revealed a divide concerning healthcare as a right or privilege that may have pointed back to the participant’s own social determinants (Braun & Clarke, 2022). Not all providers view healthcare as a right; some perceive it as a privilege (McCleod, 2024). For example, misinformation about individual responsibility for health which is not always evidence-based and may lead providers to discount barriers which are buried in the system such as poverty, education, residential location, job availability and access to care (CDC, 2024). Information underpinning right vs privilege in access to health care can affect patient outcomes. This study supports healthcare providers being attentive to how they view healthcare; is it a right or privilege. Integrating strategies that challenge flawed assumptions and promote evidence-based understanding of SDoH can promote better healthcare outcomes because willingly or unwillingly receiving underserved populations into the healthcare system and choosing whether to provide ethical care could affect health care outcomes and perpetuate bad science (Healthy People 2030, n.d.). Ultimately, when nurses reflect on their own perceptions and dismantle personal beliefs which may be perpetuated in bad science, they are better equipped to deliver evidence-based patient-centered care to all populations. This study highlights the importance of aligning nursing practice with accurate science and equity-driven principles embedded in the effects of social determinants to improve health outcomes across diverse populations.