Nurses and Health Policy and Politics: Get Involved--Make an Impact!
Descrição
Summary of Barbara Cherry and Susan R. Jacob's Contemporary Nursing: Issues, Trends, & Management : Chapter 23 Health Policy and Politics: Get Involved
References
Cherry, B., & Jacob, S.R. (2014). Health policy and politics: Get involved. In B. Cherry & S. Jacob (Eds.), Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends, and management (pp. 406-421). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Mosby
Nurses and Health
Policy and Politics: Get
Involved--Make an
Impact!
1. Levels of
Public Health
Policy
Local: Health care services offered to cities or
counties; extensive or limited; some partnerships
with state goverment
State: Governs health care profession's
scope of practice via professional practice
acts; partners with federal government
insurance programs like Medicaid and Chip;
source of funds for public health services
Federal: Leadership in passing The Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act; significantly
funds health care services; legislation impacts
nursing practice greatly in many realms
4. Using the
Nursing
Process in
Health Policy
Nurses must be able to recognize healthcare issues that
need addressed or policies that are ammendable. Each step
of the nursing process can be used to help health care
issue recognition.
ASSESSMENT: process of collecting information
ANALYSIS AND DIAGNOSIS: Information
analyzed to determinte the fundamental
issue
PLANNING: development of option or options for action
IMPLEMENTATION: actions taken to put the plan in place
EVALUATION: evidence that determines the success
or failure and the why? or why not? of the plan
implemented
5. How to
get Involved
Register to vote in all elections and do your
research of candidates--Be informed!
Join professional nursing organizations
active in monitoring public health policy and
informing their members of new or updated
health policy
Work in political candidates'
campaigns by educating
candidates on health care issues.
Face-to-face meetings
with policymakers and
their staff members to
provide health care issues
Participate in town hall
meetings where
communities can meet the
candidates
Communicate with Policymakers and be
brief, specific, personal, persistent, and
provide contact information.
3. Policy
Development
and
Regulation
Health care policy development is an
extremely complex process that involves all 3
branches of government: Executive,
Legislative, Judicial
It takes a policymaker who is willing to take the dedicated
steps necessary through the complex legislative, regulatory, or
funding processes to turn a health problem into a public policy.
Only a slim percentage of the proposed legislation actually become law.
Once a policy is made, the jurisdiction of a
department under the executive branch will
develop regulations for implementation
It is imperative that supporters of new health policies ensure that the
regulations are true to the implementation plan
2. Why do
nurses need to
get involved in
Health Policy
and Politics?
Increased state and federal government
involvement in health care
Practice of Nursing is directly impacted by
health policy development
Major health care issues have the attention of the media and
governmental policymakers
Spotlight is on nursing as the profession expands and evolves.