Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Nov 6:S0891-5245(25)00273-1.
doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2025.09.011. Online ahead of print.

A Primer for Nurses on the Historical Policy of Redlining

Felesia R Bowen, Cindy Greenberg, Pamela Burke, Freida Outlaw, Linda Lewandowski, Betsy M McDowell, Gwendolyn Sims, Julia Snethen, Janiece DeSocio, Faye Gary

A Primer for Nurses on the Historical Policy of Redlining

Felesia R Bowen et al. J Pediatr Health Care. .

Abstract

The long-term impact of social and political policies can leave a legacy of unanticipated consequences that affect future generations. Redlining is a policy that, decades later, continues to fuel poor social determinants of health, resulting in health disparities. The negative impact of this policy on the health and well-being of children in redlined communities continues to be significant. This article provides an in-depth account of redlining as a policy and its impact on social determinants of health, child health, and well-being. Nurses have been rated as the most trusted profession in the United States for the past 23 years. Because of this high public trust, nurses are well-positioned to make a positive impact on reducing health disparities through education, advocacy, politics, and policy.

Keywords: Systemic racism; health disparity; health equity; health policy; social segregation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Dr. Felesia Bowen is President of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP). This manuscript was not commissioned by, nor is it reflective of the views of NAPNAP. The other authors do not have any financial or other conflicts of interest to declare.

LinkOut - more resources