Improving health outcomes requires engaging nursing students with the systemic challenges their patients face.
Only about 20% of health outcomes are related to medical care,
says Dr. Phyllis Morgan, nursing faculty member at Walden University.
It’s a startlingly low percentage.
“Most of what impacts health are the places where we live, work, and play. The environment, income, educational level, structural issues,” she continues. “Those are the things that really play a major part in health outcomes.”
Dr. Morgan is referring to the social determinants of health that impact nearly every aspect of one’s life.