Analysis of social mission at associate degree nursing programs in the United States

Background

“Social mission” is the contribution of a health profession's school in advancing health equity and addressing the health disparities of the society in which it exists.

Aim

This study aimed to understand the state of social mission in associate degree nursing (ADN) programs, and how performance varies across program types.

Methods

About 533 programs that were members of the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing were invited to fill out an ADN-specific version of the previously developed Social Mission Metrics survey. Survey responses were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-tests.

Results

Forty-four programs completed the self-assessment. The majority reported having curricular content on the topics of social determinants of health, LGBTQ health, advocacy, and public health (72%-95%). Most programs had no holistic admission policy (63%) and did not require anti-bias training for admission committees (54%). Pathway programs were more common among public (76%) than private schools (33%).

Conclusions

Greater focus should be placed on topics including admission policies, leadership diversity, and community involvement to enhance the social mission of ADN programs.