9J: Disasters Are Not Equal: Reframing the Continuum from Prevention to Recovery Through Structural & Social Determinants of Health and Global Nursing Leadership

Friday, September 25 | 3:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

Disasters are often framed as sudden events requiring rapid response, yet global evidence shows that their impacts are shaped long before the crisis begins by structural and social determinants of health, including inequitable access to care, climate vulnerability, migration, political instability, and systemic marginalization. This concurrent session challenges traditional disaster narratives by positioning nurses as architects of prevention, equitable response, and transformative recovery across a global continuum. Rather than centering on emergency care, this session reframes nursing leadership around prevention, preparedness, care, and aftercare, emphasizing how structural forces determine who survives, who heals, and whose communities are rebuilt.

Presenter: 

Suha Ballout, PhD, RN, FAAN | University of Washington