The Importance of the Value of Justice for Nurses

Abstract

Justice is recognized as a core professional value that nurses must demonstrate in their behaviors. Guided by this value, nurses are obligated to demonstrate justice in their all settings, roles, and domains of practice and decisions while providing nursing care or services consistent with the fundamental responsibilities of nursing. As a universal principle, the value of justice transcends social and cultural boundaries and remains consistent across contexts. Because injustice can lead to harm, nurses must advocate for justice and demonstrate it in their actions to protect the well-being of individuals and societies. Because the value of justice directly influences clinical behaviors and ethical decision-making, a comprehensive understanding of justice is essential for nursing professionals. This commentary examines the definition of justice, its importance in nursing practice and illustrative examples of fair behaviors in clinical settings.

Introduction

Justice has been determined as a professional value that nurses should demonstrate in the codes of ethics for nurses revised by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in 2021 (ICN, 2021). Nurses are required to incorporate professional values into both their decision-making processes and practical actions to elevate care quality. Among these values, justice stands as a core component of nursing identity, influencing individual clinical conduct and shaping institutional culture. The value of justice, which is a universal value, does not change according to social and cultural contexts (İslam, 2024) Therefore, in line with the professional value of justice in the ICN's ethical code, nurses need to know how to behave while providing services in line with their responsibilities and how to transfer their moral obligations to daily practice to defend justice and act accordingly.

For nurses to act in line with the value of justice that they should demonstrate in their behaviors, they need to understand its importance. To know and demonstrate how we should treat patients and family members in accordance with the value of justice, we need to have the relevant iinformation about the value of justice. This commentary includes the definition and importance of justice and examples of appropriate behaviors in accordance with the value of justice.

Brief Review

Justice, in its broadest sense, is used to mean giving what is right and deserved (Islam, 2024), and it is also expressed as a concept indicating that individuals should be treated fairly and justly. Justice is generally defined as a social condition in which norms related to rights and deservingness are fulfilled. According to Moore (2021), justice is a human perception that individuals should be treated equally and fairly. Justice is generally interpreted as fair, equitable, and appropriate treatment of persons (Varkey, 2021; Moore, 2021)

Justice, defined as a set of norms regarding the fair distribution of benefits, risks, and costs, is one of the four key principles of biomedical ethics. This principle forms part of the foundation for decision making in both research contexts and clinical practice (Beauchamp & Childress, 2013).

There are four different types of justice: distributive (determining who gets what), procedural (determining how fairly people are treated), retributive (based on punishment for wrong doing), and restorative (seeking to restore relationships to “rightness”) (Britannica Editors, 2026). Justice with its multiple meanings often leads to conflicts, especially in the process of determining the distribution of resources. Distributive justice refers to the fair, equitable, and appropriate distribution of health-care resources determined. The valid principles of distributive justice are according to effort, according to contribution, equal share, according to need, according to merit and according to free-market exchanges. These principles create consistent and workable solutions to the allocation of medical resources (Varkey, 2021).

People, their situations regarding justice, may experience injustice as victims, beneficiaries, observers, and perpetrators, and may have associated justice sensitivity. Specifically, victim sensitivity captures reactions to personally experiencing unfair disadvantages, whereas observer sensitivity reflects reactions to witnessing unfair treatment of others. Additionally, those with high observer sensitivity tend to be more likely to share resources and show a preference for equal distributions. Beneficiary sensitivity measures reactions to passively profit from unfair outcomes, and perpetrator sensitivity assesses reactions to actively engage in unfair behavior (Baumert et al., 2022). For example, individuals with high sensitivity to observer justice often perceive unfair treatment of others as causing them to intervene, react angrily, and strive to compensate the victim and/or punish the perpetrator (Bondü et al., 2022).

Current Insights and Interpretations

The purpose of justice is to ensure goodness, virtue, and authenticity—a moral obligation that binds members of society to achieve what is to be achieved in legal relationships between citizens, between citizens and the state, or between countries. Justice in life is a crucial need for human beings, enabling everyone to balance the demands of their rights with the fulfillment of their obligations to achieve truth (Wahyudi et al., 2022).

Justice is a universal value. Justice is not a value that changes according to time, place, and person. Those who lack a sense of justice cannot make fair decisions. Justice should be for everyone (Islam, 2024). It is stated that unfair situations trigger strong emotional reactions such as sadness, pity, disappointment, and helplessness, and therefore injustice should be prevented as much as possible (Bondü et al., 2022). Justice, as a value, is a mutually agreed-upon goal within a community, pursued for the sake of justice itself (Wahyudi et al., 2022).

Justice as a core professional value in nursing, is highly relevant and important, particularly in the context of global health inequalities and the ethical responsibilities of the profession. Beck and Dossey (2025) observe that modern society encounters considerable challenges resulting from disease, armed conflict, climate change, and social injustice. These issues collectively intensify the burden of illness and negatively impact public health. In response, it is essential for nurses to advocate effectively and exemplify the importance of justice through their professional conduct. Moreover, for the world to be a more just place, nurses must be at the forefront of demonstrating the value of justice in their behavior.

In nursing, justice emphasizes the equitable distribution of healthcare services, prioritizing those in greatest need. This aligns with the goal of ensuring fair treatment for all patients, particularly in resource allocation, medical decision-making, and healthcare policies (ANA, n.d.). ANA Code of Ethics emphasizes the nurses duty to treat all individuals equitably and address systemic injustice.

Equitable care aims to provide the entire population with safe, efficient, reliable, and quality nursing services at all levels of health. According to the findings of their study by Rooddehghan et al. (2019) there is a reciprocal relationship between providing fair care and nurses’ perceptions of equality. Nurses who have experienced equality themselves can offer their patients an experience of equality. This reciprocal relationship occurs in a context where fair care is clearly defined and demanded.

Neglecting one's duties can cause significant harm to others. In nursing education and practice, demonstrating behaviors aligned with the value of justice is essential to preventing harm. The lack of systematic training and measurement tools for justice among nurses presents a barrier to identifying relevant justice-related interventions and their effects among nursing students and clinical nurses. Efforts must be madein nursing education and research to address this deficiency and ensure appropriate measures are implemented (Jung & Yang, 2022).

Nurses who act according to the value of justice; while adhering to moral obligations such as treating others fairly, respectfully, honorably, and equally, they anticipate similar behavior from others (Hong et al., 2022). Nurses who uphold the value of justice allow others to voice their opinions, treat everyone equally, consider the emotions of others, avoid siding with those in power, provide patients with the same standard of care, strive to involve each patient in the care process, exhibit patience with patients’ issues, prioritize patients appropriately, enable patient interaction, accurately maintain patient records, ensure inclusive care for all individuals under their supervision, and repeat information to patients until comprehension is achieved (Hong et al., 2022).

Nurses act based on their values, and education plays a significant role in shaping these values. As values evolve, so do behaviors. It is important for nurses to demonstrate and foster the value of justice within nursing education, practice, research, and policies. Thus, improving individual, community, and global health outcomes. The value of justice can be observed in a nurse's actions. Nurses can exemplify this value by acting as advocates for healthcare and distributing resources equitably.

Examples of behaviors that reflect justice include: treats individuals equally in similar situations, striving for fair distribution of resources, and protecting patients’ freedoms and health rights, providing appropriate care, listening to patients’ views, aiming to positively impact lives, and considering others’ feelings, does not favor those in power or act out of self-interest, ensuring equal care standards, involving all patients in the care process, and is patient with their problems, providing opportunities for interaction, maintaining records properly, cares for everyone, and repeats information until understood.

Importance to Nursing Profession

In conclusion, justice is defined as the core value of human rights, as a primary nursing ethic, as a concept indicating that individuals should be treated fairly and justly, as the human perception that individuals should be treated equally and fairly, a fundamental norm of human society in which individuals expect reciprocal justice; as a fundamental human need, as a set of norms regarding the fair distribution of benefits, risks, and costs; and as an important professional value that determines what nurses should do and how they should act when providing healthcare services.

When nurses act in accordance with the value of justice to provide fair and inclusive care to all individuals, they advocate for equitable access to health services, promotes participation, respects diversity, and upholds human rights.