In a podium presentation at the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society's 37th International Research Congress in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 16-18, 2026, faculty members Cathy Quay, Shirley Etienne, Jeanmarie Koonts, and Lori Hubbard highlighted unique features of the innovative Elon Nursing curriculum scaffolded to build equity competence through intentional community and global engagement.
Preparing nurses to address health disparities in a globalized healthcare environment requires education that integrates theory with authentic experiential learning. At the Sigma Theta Tau 37th International Research Congress in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 16-18, 2026, Nursing Department Chair Cathy Quay opened a podium presentation by sharing key dimensions of health equity competence.
At the conference, faculty members Shirley Etienne, Jeanmarie Koonts and Lori Hubbard also highlighted unique features of the innovative Elon Nursing curriculum scaffolded to build equity competence through intentional community and global engagement. Nursing courses delivered across the sophomore, junior, and senior years focus on population health concepts, social and structural determinants of health, and patient advocacy.
Etienne, who recently championed an Advancing Equity Requirement (AER) designation for NRS 2000 Healthcare Relationships I, shared how students critically examine their own cultural identities, biases and values to understand how these factors influence practice. Experiential learning occurs through an Affinity Bias Analysis, cultural immersion activity, and Bridging Racial Health Disparities group project focused on advocacy and nursing interventions.
Hubbard expounded on students’ opportunities in NRS 4200 Population and Community Health to critically analyze community-level health disparities, identify barriers to equitable care, and develop and implement strategies to promote health during clinical rotations in the local community. Hubbard was also featured in a poster session with results from her study “Childbirth Self-Efficacy and Factors Influencing Labor and Birth in the Dominican Republic.”
Koonts finished the presentation by describing how the preparatory seminar and both NRS 4300 (local) and NRS 4315 (global) Healthcare Relationships II foster intercultural awareness, ethical engagement, and global health literacy. Through the intentional design and sequence of these courses, Elon nursing students examine intersectionality and cultural influences on health outcomes. They develop responsibility as local and global citizens committed to reducing health disparities.
During the recent accreditation process, curriculum design to promote competence in health equity was highlighted as one of the most compelling features of the Elon Nursing program. Program outcomes demonstrate increased cultural humility, population health competency, and a deeper understanding of the structural determinants of health. This experiential, evidence-based model exemplifies how nursing programs can intentionally cultivate equity competence that bridges theory and practice to prepare nurses for inclusive, compassionate, and globally responsive and informed care.