Student Name
Capella University
NURS-FPX4000
Professor Name
Submission Date
Applying Ethical Principles
Food insecurity is a significant public health issue for millions of Americans, including the poor, minorities, and people living in rural areas. People need to access adequate, safe, and nutritious food on a regular basis to support a healthy, active lifestyle. According to the report conducted by Ritchie et al. (2025), in 2022, there were about 40 million Americans (13 million children) who experienced food insecurity. Lack of access to healthy food is one of the risk factors for chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. The issue is exacerbated by social determinants of health, such as poverty, transportation issues, and poor access to grocery stores. Food insecurity cannot be overcome by food aid alone, but requires a multi-faceted response involving nutrition education, improving food access, community-based support services, and policy interventions, as well as activities to tackle health inequities and secure long-term health and well-being.
Autonomy is a factor in food insecurity.
To tackle food insecurity, the autonomy and capacity of individuals to make their own nutritional decisions need to be supported. The concept of autonomy in healthcare is centered around empowering and giving control to the people over their food choices and health. However, this freedom is limited due to a food security problem, which can be that many do not have sufficient funds to access food, or there is a lack of transportation for them to be able to purchase fresh food, or they simply cannot access fresh food (Dillahunt et al., 2023). Without access to affordable and nutritious foods, people in a food desert may turn to processed foods to meet their nutritional needs. Expand autonomy through providing community resources such as nutrition education, community gardens, and moving markets to health care providers and communities. These interventions facilitate underserved populations to have greater control over their food choices and also their nutritional status (Tram, 2024).
Beneficence Plays a Role in Food Insecurity
The moral concept of beneficence is about what actions are taken in order to help maintain the health and happiness of others. Addressing food insecurity is a commitment to improve the lives of vulnerable groups who are disadvantaged in accessing good-quality food. Food Safety and Nutrition Programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) can make a great difference for food-insecure families. The programs have been demonstrated to improve nutrition and prevent chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension ( Zhang et al., 2025). Also, other community programs, including those in the school nutrition system, food pantries, and nutrition education support, offer nutrition benefits, as well as health benefits.
No maleficence plays a Role in Food Insecurity.
An important part of combating food insecurity is the maxim of #4 Nonmaleficence – The ethical duty to cause no harm. When patients are in healthcare settings, the issue of food insecurity must be taken up. Without screening, opportunities for interventions may be missed, and the health of child, older adult, and chronic disease patients may be compromised (Aylward et al., 2021). Food insecurity can adversely affect adherence to treatment, nutrition, and hospitalisation. In addition, food assistance program reduction can be harmful for health inequities as well by limiting access to healthy food (Bowen et al., 2021). Healthcare professionals have a role to play in harm prevention by asking questions and referring anyone who is vulnerable to being food insecure to a resource or support.
Justice Plays a Role in Food Insecurity
Justice is about fairness and equal opportunity to access resources that are integral to health and well-being. Justice around food insecurity requires accessible, nutritious food for all, regardless of income, race/ethnicity, or geography. Food insecurity is exacerbated among low-income, rural, and minority communities as a result of systemic social and economic inequalities. Promoting fairness by ensuring vulnerable populations have access to healthy food through SNAP and WIC. The ongoing challenge is to create specific interventions for each community that overcome barriers to food access and address disparities in health outcomes that exist, and to implement them.
The role of biases in food insecurity.
Health systems and communities can and do have implicit and explicit biases that can influence the strategies they take to address food insecurity. Access to food assistance services, health care, and nutrition resources can be affected by racial, cultural, and socio-economic differences. For instance, when a marginalized population attempts to enroll in a program, such as SNAP and WIC, there may be a level of discrimination. Moreover, health care providers might also be unaware of the difficulties encountered by low-income patients, and thus underprovide nutrition counseling or not refer them to nutrition assistance programs. Such biases can result in inequities in health care and resources and are a violation of the ethical principle of justice (Horst et al., 2024). Addressing and recognising personal and institutional/structural bias is essential to ensuring food security outcomes for everyone through the promotion of equity.
Key Takeaways
Ethical principles improve patient care
Food insecurity affects public health
Justice ensures healthcare equity
Nurses should promote ethical decision-making
Understanding Ethics in Wellness, Disease Prevention, as it relates to Food Insecurity, is very important.
Food insecurity-related wellness promotion and disease prevention is a very important aspect of ethics. Interventions seek to rectify nutrition inequalities and uphold the dignity and autonomy of the individual, and are based on ethical principles such as justice, beneficence, and nonmaleficence (Miller & Thomas, 2020). Nutrition and access to affordable, nutritious food are significant contributors to preventing chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Nutrition and health education programs to enhance food access contribute to the elimination of health disparities and healthier communities. Ethical strategies support the under-resourced people for a positive health outcome and prevent them from falling ill. Ethical viewpoints and strategies related to addressing food insecurity can go hand in hand with efforts to improve health equity and contribute to community health and wellness (Douglas et al., 2020).
Conclusion
Food insecurity is a key public health problem, and it disproportionately impacts vulnerable groups and leads to substantial health inequities. The ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice are of tremendous value when addressing the multifaceted issue of food insecurity. The distribution of good-quality food, the reduction of barriers to good-quality food, and the encouragement of evidence-informed approaches have the potential to provide positive health outcomes for individuals and communities. To develop practical and feasible solutions to food insecurity and improve health equity, collaboration is needed between healthcare providers, policy makers, community organizations, and public health agencies. Strengthening communities in ethical decision-making and coordinated action can create healthier communities and improve the food security and quality of life for food-insecure individuals.
References NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 3
Aylward, A. F., Anderson, E. J., Morris, A., Bush, M., Schmitthenner, B., Shams, R. B., Omofoye, F., Bodepudi, S., Roche, H., Cimpian, J., Wardlow, L., & Platts‐Mills, T. F. (2021). Using malnutrition and food insecurity screening to identify broader health‐related social needs amongst older adults receiving emergency department care in the Southeastern United States: A cross‐sectional study. Health & Social Care in the Community, 29(6). https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13367
Bowen, S., Elliott, S., & Hardison‐Moody, A. (2021). The structural roots of food insecurity: How racism is a fundamental cause of food insecurity. Sociology Compass, 15(7). https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12846
Dillahunt, T. R., Sawwan, M., Wood, D., Wimer, B. L., Conrado, A.-M., Eicher-Miller, H. A., Gura, A., & Metoyer, R. (2023). Understanding food planning strategies of food-insecure populations: Implications for food-agentic technologies. Association for Computing Machinery, 239, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581568
Douglas, F., Machray, K., & Entwistle, V. (2020). Health professionals’ experiences and perspectives on food insecurity and long‐term conditions: A qualitative investigation. Health & Social Care in the Community, 28(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12872
Horst, M., McClintock, N., & Hoey, L. (2024). The intersection of planning, urban agriculture, and food justice: A review of the literature. In Urban agriculture. 89–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32076-7_6
Miller, D. P., & Thomas, M. M. C. (2020). Policies to reduce food insecurity: An ethical imperative. Physiology & Behavior, 222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112943
Ritchie, L. A., Cutter, S. L., Campbell, N., & Gall, M. (2025). The new vulnerable: Changing contexts of food insecurity in the United States. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 67(1), 45–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/00139157.2024.2419318
Tram, J. (2024). Food service: Cultivating food equity & resilience in the heart of Ivy City. Proquest.com. https://www.proquest.com/openview/23440e8953c06e655c194c75cab8a94b/1?cbl=18750&diss=y&pq-origsite=gscholar
Vela, M. B., Erondu, A. I., Smith, N. A., Peek, M. E., Woodruff, J. N., & Chin, M. H. (2022). Eliminating explicit and implicit biases in health care: Evidence and research needs. Annual Review of Public Health, 43(1), 477–501. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-052620-103528
Zhang, Q., Patel, P. T., Neupane, B., Lowery, C. M., Alkhalifah, F., Mahdavi, F., & Sarino, E. M. (2025). Consumption of the food groups with the revised benefits in the new WIC food package: A scoping review. Nutrients, 17(5), 856. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17050856
Related assessments for this class:
