Social Justice: A Life-or-Death Issue for the Profession

As per the journal’s scope, the articles and columns published in Health & Social Work address health in a broad context with attention to affected populations and related practice and policy implications. While reflecting these aims, this issue also spurs thought into larger social justice challenges within our healthcare system. The cornerstone of social work and what makes our profession distinctly unique is its mandate for social justice, which is plainly stipulated in the National Association of Social Workers’ (NASW, 2021) Code of Ethics. Heightened by our increased knowledge of social determinants of health and the outcomes of disparities, it is widely accepted that healthcare is a social justice issue founded in the general premise that all people should have equal rights and opportunities for treatment (Almgren, 2017; Finn & Jacobson, 2013). This is supported by the Statement of Principles for Ethics in Social Work put forth by the International Federation of Social Workers and the International Association of Schools of Social Work (Bywaters & Napier, 2009; International Federation of Social Workers, 2018). Articles in this issue bring social justice in healthcare to light in confronting unequal rights, opportunities, and treatment among hospital patients and workers, homeless populations, Latinx families, those in rural settings, and those living in communities at risk for environmental threats. Although we are all well acquainted with the idea of social justice, it remains uncertain whether the profession shares a standard definition of the concept and a distinct understanding of how to translate it into practice (Banerjee, 2011). It is much easier to come to a collective agreement when social justice is lacking, than to truly understand what it is and how to achieve it.