Social Justice Principles
Social justice principles refer to values “that favour measures that aim at decreasing or eliminating inequity; promoting inclusiveness of diversity; and establishing environments that are supportive of all people.” The social justice principles include:
- equity,
- diversity, and
- supportive environments.
Equity
“Equity means that resources are allocated in accordance with the needs of individuals and populations with the desired goal of equality of outcomes.” This results in particular groups within Australia receiving more funding and being identified as priority groups in Australia because they have poorer health outcomes than other Australians. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People are an example of a people group who require additional funding and resources in order to improve health outcomes.
Diversity
Diversity refers to the differences that exist between individuals and people groups. Australia is a very diverse multicultural country, which requires a number of measures to be in place to ensure each people group has access to health care and achieves good health outcomes. Providing brochures in multiple languages and having interpreters in hospitals are examples of being inclusive of diversity.
Supportive Environments
Supportive environments are environments where “people live, work and play that protect people from threats to health and that increase their ability to make health-promoting choices.” The government looks to create supportive environments for all people but also looks at the environments of particular people groups to determine if these might be reasons for poorer health outcomes. Rural and remote people are an example of people whose environment is not as supportive as other environments.
Purpose of the social justice principles
The social justice principles seek to recognise and address both the health outcomes, such as:
- incidence and prevalence of disease, and
- death rates
As well as the factors that influence health, such as:
- socioeconomic status,
- environment, and
- cultural factors.