Social Justice and Global Public Health

Social injustice, which underpins local and global public health problems, creates conditions that adversely and unequally affect the health of individuals and communities. Public health emergencies (re)illuminate existing social, health, economic, and political inequalities. Vulnerable groups include ethnic and racial minorities, the elderly, people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, immigrants/refugees, people living in rural/underserved communities, LGBTQI* community, people who are incarcerated, women, and people with certain medical conditions (including mental illness) who are disproportionately and negatively impacted by public health emergencies. Social injustice is a public health issue as it increases rates of disease, disability, injury, and premature death due to lack of access to quality, affordable health while increasing risk factors associated with poorer health outcomes. Embedding social justice within global public health, then, requires a shift away from “biomedical tunnel vision” to address broader socioeconomic and health inequalities. Addressing public health problems without centering on social justice can further exacerbate existing health, social, economic, and political vulnerabilities. This chapter argues that adding a social justice lens to global public health will improve the health of individuals and communities through addressing oppression, injustice, and inequity while centering on justice, equity, participation, and collaborative relationships. Social justice approaches to public health center local and contextually relevant solutions develop approaches that prioritize vulnerable populations, develop healthcare methods and systems that are equity-based, and address sociohistorical legacies and structures, which underpin health inequality.