Health Equity / Diversity

Data and information gathering is vital to healthcare outcomes and quality – from identifying best practices for taking care of patients to predicting and planning resource needs and staying nimble during constant change. The role of nurses in technology and informatics is more critical than ever as AI is poised to streamline systems and practices.

Johnson & Johnson has proudly championed the nursing profession for over 125 years because we know that for healthcare to work, it takes nurses. This National Nurses Month, we celebrate the innovation, expertise and tremendous impact of more than 4 million nurses across the U.S. Below, meet four inspiring nurses dedicated to transforming the health of their patients and communities, underscoring the innovation and leadership of the nursing profession.

Public health nursing is a unique specialty, offering nurses the opportunity to impact population health at the bedside and beyond. In celebration of National Public Health Week, meet Dr. Oluwatosin Olateju, Assistant Professor of Nursing at Coppin State University and Co-Chair of the Maryland Commission on Public Health, whose tireless efforts demonstrate the power of nurse-led innovation and patient advocacy.

The effects of climate change impact human health in many ways, from changing disease patterns to increasing the risk of food insecurity. In observance of Earth Day, meet public health nurse Kasey Bellegarde, MPH, RN and physician Jonathan Perlin, MD, PhD, who share their perspective on nursing’s role in mitigating the effects of climate change and building a more sustainable and equitable future.

For its 100th episode, the SEE YOU NOW podcast attended the DNPs of Color conference in Washington D.C., to highlight a powerful conversation with Virginia Allen, LPN, the last known living Black Angel. Celebrate Black History Month with the trailblazing story of Allen and the nurses whose dedication helped to cure one of the most fatal diseases of the 19th century.

Learn how communities in rural Kentucky and New Orleans are forging innovative partnerships to supercharge nursing workforce development, provide vital support for local healthcare systems and ultimately strengthen the core of these communities.

A racial reckoning brought the reality of systemic discrimination to the forefront of nursing. Now, leaders across healthcare and society are working together to drive change.

For many underrepresented students, nursing pipeline programs don’t start early enough or reach them at all. Meet the nurse who is working to change that, as a nonprofit founder raising awareness of nursing as a vital career choice and developing experiential education and long-term mentors for underrepresented students in Houston’s middle and high schools.

Anthony Fortenberry, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, is the Deputy Executive Director of Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, which provides comprehensive health services to the LGBTQIA+ community. In honor of Pride Month, learn how nurse-led models are poised to strengthen community care, advance health equity, and improve outcomes.

The U.S. needs more nurses, which means it needs more nursing students. Many students, especially non-traditional, or those who may be first in their families to pursue higher education, may need additional types of support throughout their academic journey to prepare them to enter the workforce. Galen College of Nursing recognizes that every student has individual needs, which is why they employ a holistic approach to expanding access to nursing education.

In celebration of National Nurses Month, meet nurse innovators transforming healthcare across the U.S., underscoring the impact of the profession in advancing health equity, improving patient care, and strengthening health systems.

Timiya S. Nolan, PhD, APRN-CNP, ANP-BC, is a nurse scientist at The Ohio State University focused on working in and with her community to reduce healthcare disparities. In honor of Minority Health Month, learn how she’s helping Black patients improve quality of life after breast cancer, boosting heart health in Black men, and bringing more nurses of color into community-based research.

In honor of Earth Day & Minority Health Month, meet a nurse scientist working at the intersection of climate change, health equity, and innovative nursing research. Roxana Chicas, PhD, RN, represents the power of nurses to solve urgent public health challenges and improve human health for entire populations.

Across healthcare, innovation is transforming where and how care is delivered to patients. As retail healthcare continues to expand, CVS Health nurse executive Angela Patterson is putting the profession at the center of transformative shifts in care delivery.

As a student growing up in Jamaica, Ena Williams always knew she wanted to be a nurse. Her drive and dedication led her to become the first Black Chief Nursing Officer at Yale New Haven Hospital, one of the top facilities in the region. In honor of Black History Month, this inspirational nursing leader shares the advice and insights for new and future nurses that she’s learned in her decades-long leadership journey.

When the nursing workforce is more representative of the communities they care for, access to quality care and patient outcomes improve for all. But building a diverse workforce requires intentional inclusivity across the professional pipeline – including the nursing school environment. Two unique programs funded by Johnson & Johnson’s Our Race to Health Equity initiative (ORTHE) are proactively working to improve the experience of nurses and nursing students of color.

As a hospital-based nurse, Kwamane Liddell saw how important it was for patients to have healthy meals tailored to their medical needs. Liddell created Nutrible, a technology platform that helps healthcare providers connect patients with healthy food aligned with their medical and cultural needs.

Meet the nursing student who wants to become a last-line advocate for patients and a helping hand for new nurses on their paths to the profession.

In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, Adrianna Nava, president of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN), shares how this organization is working to address the needs of current and future Hispanic nurses and the communities they represent.

How nurse representation, innovation and empowerment are improving access and outcomes.

How do you scale sexual and gender-affirming care for LGBTQIA+ patients? Ask nursing students. This Pride Month, Johnson & Johnson is proud to recognize the Eidos LGBT+ Health Initiative, a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to improve gender and sexual health equity.

As a kid, Julius Johnson, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, watched his father, an ICU nurse, run toward every crisis. Julius loved the adrenaline rush, but he realized that what he really loved was helping people, so he became a nurse.

Gina Brown, PhD, MSA, RN, FAAN, and Eileen Sullivan-Marx, PhD, RN, FAAN, are deans of two prestigious nursing schools in the U.S. Brown leads Howard University’s College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences and Sullivan-Marx leads New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Together, they aim to tackle health disparities through an innovative collaboration in the classroom.

Lack of access to primary and mental healthcare is an issue faced by many across the country, and a situation that is even more challenging for rural communities.

A crucial takeaway from the Accelerating Nursing, Transforming Healthcare report was the mental health strain nurses experience and methods of reducing it. From trauma-informed group sessions to songwriting, check out the innovative strategies supporting nurses’ mental health and reducing stigmas.

As part of our broader pledge to support frontline health workers and help provide equitable health solutions for communities of color, Johnson & Johnson partnered with the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and the Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN) to launch the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge, focused on Improving Access to Care. Meet the Challenge awardees, Erin Athey and Christina Calamaro.

These stories are just a small snapshot of the many ways in which nurses are innovating and leading to improve care delivery in communities. Johnson & Johnson is committed to advocating for, elevating and empowering nurses as they transform healthcare and change human health for the better.

For nearly 30 years, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy and dentistry students and more have taken healthcare to their surrounding community, perhaps where it’s needed most. The Farmworker Family Health Program, launched by a nurse leader at Georgia State in 1993, and carried on by Emory University in 2001, provides various students an opportunity to offer basic care for the underserved migrant farmworkers of Colquitt, Cook, Brooks, and Tift counties in southwest, GA. Learn about its inception and how it grew to a nurse-led, community-focused effort.

The role of the nurse has evolved greatly over the past century, but nurses’ innovative and compassionate spirit has remained a constant. Meet Nurse Kevin Moore, BSN, RN, who serves in a unique role dedicated to patient advocacy, equity and improving the patient experience for the LGBTQIA+ community at NYU Langone Health in New York City.

Johnson & Johnson, together with the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Association of Public Health Nurses proudly announce the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge: Improving Access to Care. This challenge looks to nurses to create potential solutions that aim to improve quality and access to equitable care and ultimately help prevent, intercept or treat disease.

Amid a global pandemic, when the world needed their leadership in healthcare more than ever, nurses answered the call. Johnson & Johnson is celebrating National Nurses Month 2021 by sharing the stories of 15 nurse healthcare disruptors, just some of the many nurses who led the way through COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has added incredible strain on health systems and organizations who aid our most vulnerable populations. In honor of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, meet five nurses who are continuing to go above and beyond to help improve access to care in local communities.

Like the pioneering nurses who were on the frontlines of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, nurses on the frontlines of COVID-19 are overcoming challenges and driving new standards of care. Learn how the Rutgers University School of Nursing is inspiring nurse leaders of tomorrow with lessons from the nurses of Ward 5B.

At the dawn of the AIDS epidemic —when no one knew how the disease spread and diagnosis was considered terminal — the nurses in San Francisco General Hospital’s HIV/AIDS Ward 5B defied convention, found an innovative way to improve care and treated AIDS patients with compassion.

Unique approaches to care and research are not always accepted at first, and nurse innovators everywhere often overcome many obstacles to obtain the resources and credibility needed to implement life-changing ideas and programs. This is true for Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor and the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing at The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), who developed the successful ¡Cuídate! or “Take Care of Yourself” program.

According to research by the Health Professionals for Diversity (HPD) Coalition, minority patients are impacted disproportionately by treatable, curable, or preventable diseases. Even when controlling for access-related factors, such as insurance status and income, some racial and ethnic minority groups are still more likely to receive lower-quality healthcare. As the links between these disparities and racial and ethnic minority populations continue to drive research in culturally competent care, educational initiatives that create a constant awareness of such disparities among healthcare providers are key to helping close the gap in the level of care provided in diverse communities around the country.

Many parents across the U.S. struggle with challenging behaviors in their young children, and they may not be aware of the array of strategies that can help them deal with their children’s behavior. What if some of these behavioral issues could be addressed by affording parents access to parenting information that is not readily available in their communities? This question led three nurse researchers – Deborah Gross, DNSc, RN, FAAN, Christine Garvey, PhD, RN, and Wrenetha Julion, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN – to develop the Chicago Parent Program at the Rush University College of Nursing in Chicago, Ill.

There are many factors that influence the path nurses take not only as professionals, but also as individuals, in pursuit of a way to make a difference in the things they believe in. As a nurse researcher, educator, and leader of the recent National League for Nursing (NLN) "Diversity & Inclusion: Facilitating Race-Related Discourse that Matters" workshop, Kenya V. Beard, EdD, AGACNP-BC, NP-C, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, demonstrates the many reasons why nurses should work to influence and inspire change in policy and practice.

Addressing cultural issues within vulnerable communities can come in many forms, and a career in nursing can take unexpected turns as opportunities arise to help communities in need. Phyllis W. Sharps, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, a recent recipient of Modern Healthcare’s Diversity in Nursing Award, shows us how a career in nursing can evolve away from the bedside.

When Jana Lauderdale, PhD, RN, FAAN, took the stage at the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) 66th Annual Convention plenary session presented by Johnson & Johnson, she introduced herself in a unique way: “I’m a Comanche Indian and I’m a nurse.” These descriptions shape Jana’s personal identity, but they also shape how she approaches and analyzes the world around her.

Since 2011, Give a Spit About Cancer has mobilized more than 8,000 young people to change patient lives through registering to become a bone marrow donor. Last year, Johnson & Johnson teamed up with DoSomething.org and the Give a Spit About Cancer campaign to help amplify those efforts.

Since 2007, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing have partnered to sponsor the Johnson & Johnson/AACN Minority Nurse Faculty Scholars program. The program — which is currently accepting applications — aims to address faculty shortages in nursing schools and simultaneously expand the number and increase diversity among the nurse faculty population available to teach an increasingly diverse student body.

Providing respectful and competent care is a cornerstone of exceptional nursing. However, a patient’s perception of healthcare and healthcare providers’ abilities to provide comprehensive care can be impacted (positively or negatively) by a healthcare provider’s ability to take a patient’s own background and experiences into account. This is particularly true within Alaska Native (AN) and American Indian (AI) communities, as each culture maintains distinct traditions. When nurses in Alaska are able to relate to indigenous ways of living, knowing, and healing, they can establish a comfortable and trusting relationship with AN and AI patients.

The University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing BAMA-Latino Project is working to achieve the goal of a health workforce that mirrors the nation’s diverse population.

Did you know that January is National Mentoring Month? By preparing young adults for college and careers, mentoring helps develop the future talent pipeline for skilled professions like nursing. Mentors are especially important for students from demographics that are underrepresented in the workforce.

Marcus Henderson, BSN, and Ian McCurry, BSN, RN, are co-founders and chief operations officers of Up and Running Healthcare Solutions, which was born from a project they developed while in nursing school to address health disparities facing homeless people in Philadelphia, Penn. We recently spoke to them about their initiative, and how nurses and small interventions can make a big difference in addressing health disparities faced by homeless populations.

Improving the health of women can not only save lives, it can contribute to the overall health and economy of a nation. Nurses can help communities improve women’s health by providing education, healthcare services, health supplies and increased awareness of key issues.