Human rights, health and nursing science

The aim of this review study is to examine the relationship between human rights, health and the nursing science. Nowadays human rights are a globalized political value. Human rights and health are bound together and one supplements the other, affecting all the aspects of health. In Greece human rights have been safeguarded through the Constitution. The United Nations and various other international organizations have included the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a basic element in their constitution. The World Health Organization is the first organization which has acknowledged the relation of human rights with health, through declarations and agreements. For the nursing science the human rights constitute a useful tool, regarding the patient’s care and a useful guide in ethical discourse. The International Council of Nursing supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and created a position statement covering a wide area, were the human rights affect the population’s health.