NURS 6050: Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health
“Welcome to NURS 6050: Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health“
At first glance, it may seem that the realms of politics and nursing exist on somewhat opposite ends of a spectrum. But a closer examination reveals quite a connection between the two.
Nurses occupy a unique and powerful position in the healthcare system. They spend more time than other health professionals in direct patient care. They interact with patients and families, often during times of great need and distress. Because of this, nurses are often among the first to know when the healthcare system does not meet patient needs, and they have a deep understanding of how it might succeed or fail to provide access to safe, affordable care.
In addition to identifying problems with healthcare, nurses are in an equally unique position to improve it. As experts in the delivery of healthcare, nurses can participate in regulatory and legislative processes and can directly impact the laws and rules that govern their practice.
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This important course in the MSN program, Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health, examines this impact and explores how nurses can make it a reality. You will examine sources of regulatory and legislative information, and how best to apply this information to analyzing current and future policy. You will consider the role that nurses can play in healthcare program design, implementation, and evaluation. Additionally, you will examine the impact that nurses have on addressing not only local and domestic healthcare issues but global issues as well.
Welcome to Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health!
Course Description
In today’s rapidly changing healthcare delivery system, decisions made within the political arena impact the future of health delivery systems, healthcare professionals, and the populations they serve. In this course, students examine the policy process and its impact on healthcare delivery, cost, quality, and access. Students examine the importance of getting healthcare issues on federal and state agenda, investigate governmental response through legislation and regulation, and identify where they can advocate for positive outcomes in program/policy design, implementation, and evaluation. Global health issues are examined for their relevance and impact on the development of the nurse advocate. Through discussions, reflection, case studies, and the application of professional communications techniques as political tactics to influence policy outcomes, students demonstrate integration of policy decision-making into professional nurse practice for the benefit of individuals and populations.
Course Learning Outcomes
By the conclusion of this course, you should be able to:
- Evaluate factors that affect nursing practice (such as socioeconomic, political, legal/regulatory, ethical, and global factors).
- Evaluate factors that affect healthcare delivery systems (such as socioeconomic, political, legal/regulatory, ethical, and global factors).
- Evaluate factors that affect population health (such as socioeconomic, political, legal/regulatory, ethical, and global factors).
- Analyze the influence of policy and politics on the cost, quality, and access to healthcare delivery systems.
- Apply policy processes including political advocacy skills into professional nursing practice.
- Assess tradeoffs between cost, quality, and access inherent in a complex healthcare delivery system.
- Analyze global policies for health and healthcare issues.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Wed Mar 1, 2023 | Discussion Topic Week 1: Discussion | due by 10:59pm |
| Sun Mar 12, 2023 | Assignment Week 2: Assignment | due by 10:59pm |
| Wed Mar 15, 2023 | Discussion Topic Week 3: Discussion | due by 10:59pm |
| Sun Mar 26, 2023 | Assignment Week 4: Assignment | due by 10:59pm |
| Wed Mar 29, 2023 | Discussion Topic Week 5: Discussion | due by 10:59pm |
| Sun Apr 9, 2023 | Assignment Week 6: Assignment | due by 10:59pm |
| Wed Apr 12, 2023 | Discussion Topic Week 7: Discussion | due by 10:59pm |
| Wed Apr 19, 2023 | Discussion Topic Week 8: Discussion | due by 10:59pm |
| Sun Apr 23, 2023 | Assignment Week 8: Assignment | due by 10:59pm |
| Wed Apr 26, 2023 | Discussion Topic Week 9: Discussion | due by 10:59pm |
| Sun May 7, 2023 | Assignment Week 10: Assignment | due by 10:59pm |
| Fri May 12, 2023 | Assignment Week 11: Assignment | due by 10:59pm |
| Assignment Turnitin Drafts |
Welcome to class. This is actually a very interesting class, and one where you are expected to learn many NEW things. To make it easier for my students I always post helpful hints prior to all assignments. These hints are designed to help you not make the most common student errors I have seen in the past. My goal is to help you earn the highest score possible. But if you do not regularly check and follow the advice I provide, then my posts will not be very useful.
Remember that APA 7th edition is a course and school requirement. No exceptions, this includes discussion. The things I am most interested in seeing, is that you can correctly format a citation and a reference. In discussion do not try hanging indents, as our system does not know how to do that. Do not cite anything you do not reference, and do not reference anything you do not cite. Finally, never use blogs, magazines, random websites, or newspaper articles as cited sources for discussion or papers. Only use peer reviewed articles found in your library.
Also check you email frequently as I will send emails, if I see you are having any classroom issues.
Students are expected to have read the syllabus and handbook and to understand how papers and assignments are graded (rubric). Deadlines are important and you cannot earn points when you do not submit papers or try to submit late. Remember, you must ask for permission to submit late, and this may or may not be approved, depending upon the circumstances.
If you need to speak with me, send me a text. I try to get back to my students quickly.
According to Montero et al. (2022), about half of adults in the U.S. expressed that they have difficulty affording health care costs. Many Americans are struggling to get affordable insurance that provides good health coverage. Economic stability, one of the social determinants of health, plays a significant role in this topic. After dealing with the pandemic, many people suffered from the loss of jobs and medical insurance coverage from their employers.
During President Trump’s administration, he planned to make prescription drugs less expensive, allow people to choose their insurance, and provide transparency in hospital and insurer prices (Trump White House, 2020). His first strategy was to eliminate the Affordable Care Act and focus on giving people more power to choose their healthcare insurance. As a result, several individual insurance markets became available for Americans to choose from.
Unfortunately, after his term, more Americans were left without any insurance. The population of Americans without insurance increased by 2.3 million before and during the pandemic (Gee, 2020). Individual insurance became too expensive for people to afford. Although President Trump’s plan was promising, it failed to achieve its goals.
President Biden aims to build on the Affordable Care Act to address health care issues related to the pandemic, minimize health care costs, and improve how people navigate the American health care system (The White House, 2021). Just recently, President Biden announced new programs focusing on lowering healthcare costs and eliminating hidden medical charges. New regulations will prevent private insurance companies from offering deceiving coverages for those with underlying conditions.
In a recent survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, more people have health insurance coverage in 2022 than in 2021 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023). According to the bureau, many factors contributed to the increase in insurance coverage, such as an increase in public coverage that compensated for the lack of private insurance coverage. With all the new programs the Biden administration is implementing, we have yet to see the effect of all these changes in the coming years.
One thing that the presidents could have focused more on is expanding insurance coverage. According to University of Southern California (n.d.), the expansion in Medicaid coverage significantly impacted access to healthcare in the U.S. The expanded Medicaid insurance coverage made it feasible for adults between 18 and 64 to get insured. It makes it possible for them to go to medical facilities to seek help.
Another program that they could’ve implemented is educating people about the many different healthcare sites that are available for us to use. For example, in Home Health, more than half of our patients go directly to the emergency room if they feel ill. We, as clinicians, would educate them that if they experience mild symptoms such as possible UTI, fever, ear or eye infection, or cuts that need stitches, we have access to urgent care that do not only cater to their needs, but also cost them significantly less.
NURS 6050 Assignment Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief
Introduction
Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder among the populations in the United States of America and across the world. Close to twenty-three percent of American school children are overweight. Obesity is characterized by unhealthy eating or presence of junk foods in different food stores. Additionally, seventeen percent of the children in the United States are obese. The prevalence of obesity is common among given races or ethnic groups. Childhood obesity is attributed to insulin resistance as well as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Different health promotions have been adopted to enhance the reduction of instances of obesity among children. The management of obesity should be one of the major concerns for the government. The rising cases of obesity among the US population are one of the biggest health concerns. The problem is attributed to unhealthy eating and poor regulation of food products. The purpose of this paper is to compare the agenda for the current/sitting U.S. president and the two previous presidential administrations on obesity.
Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief Assignment Template for Part 1 and Part 2
Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid
Use this Agenda Comparison Grid to document information about the population health/healthcare issue your selected and the presidential agendas. By completing this grid, you will develop a more in-depth understanding of your selected issue and how you might position it politically based on the presidential agendas.
You will use the information in the Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid to complete the remaining Part 2 and Part 3 of your Assignment.
Identify the Population Health concern you selected. |
Nutrition, physical activity, and obesity are some of the main population health concerns in the United States. These concerns cumulatively lead to obesity. The previous administrations had different policies concerning the rising cases of obesity.
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Describe the Population Health concern you selected and the factors that contribute to it. |
The rising cases of obesity among the US population are one of the biggest health concerns. The problem is attributed to unhealthy eating and poor regulation of food products. Also, the problem is associated with a lack of physical activities and overeating. Obesity affects both children and adults, and it has led to numerous deaths. The presence of junk foods in the markets is another factor that contributes to the problem of obesity in the United States. Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder among children both in the United States of America and across the world. Close to twenty-three percent of American children are overweight. The increasing cases of obesity also cause an increase in cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, high blood pressure/hypertension, and other cardiovascular diseases. | ||
Administration (President Name) | President Trump | President Obama | President Bush |
Describe the administrative agenda focus related to this issue for the current and two previous presidents. |
President Trump introduced a prevention policy that aimed at reducing the rates of obesity among the population. The prevention policy agenda focused on enhancing the health of the population. Under Trump’s administration, there were plans to repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund to increase funding for the preventive measures in curbing the causes of obesity among the population (Pierce & Selee, 2017).
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Obama’s administration focused on the prevention of obesity among the population. The administration undertook reducing obesity as a priority. There was the formulation of the Task Force On Childhood Obesity, whereby there was an overhaul in school lunches’ nutrition requirements. Also, there was legislation passed that required calories to be labeled on menus. The administration also ensured a ban on trans-fat from food products.
| In June 2002, President Bush launched the HealthierUS initiative to enable Americans to live healthier lives. The policy focused on enhancing physical activities, eating nutritious diets, making healthy choices, and getting preventive screenings to reduce the cases of obesity.
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Identify the allocations of financial and other resources that the current and two previous presidents dedicated to this issue. |
Trump administration proposed a $900 million allocation to the preventive health policy. There was also an expansion of health insurance coverage for cardiovascular diseases, including obesity. Further, the administration advocated for the expansion of healthcare facilities to manage the rising cases of obesity.
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In the year 2011, Obama’s administration allocated $1.5 million towards the management of childhood obesity in Alaska Natives and American Indians, where childhood obesity was at 50%. Overall, the Obama administration proposed an $879 billion budget to healthcare to enhance the obesity prevention programs’ allocations. Also, there was an allocation of $ 1 billion towards improvements in children’s access to healthy meals to prevent obesity. In the year 2009, there was an allocation of $183 million towards the prevention of obesity and other cardiovascular diseases.
| Bush’s administration allocated $35.7 million towards the HealthierUS initiatives. Under the administration, under the policy, there was the declaration of fee-free weekends in the United States’ national parks and federal lands.
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Explain how each of the presidential administrations approached the issue. | Trump’s administration approached the issue by introducing preventive measure policies. These measures included the management of different cardiovascular diseases such as heart problems, hypertension, and related conditions.
| Obama’s administration focused on the school programs as well as nutritional services. Also, the administration focused on the general healthcare perspective; improving the healthcare system as a whole meant that there were concerns over the management of obesity and other cardiovascular diseases. Also, the Affordable Care Act provided expansion in the allocation of preventive illnesses. | Bush’s administration took the general prevention approach. Under his approach, there was the introduction of physical activities, a healthy diet, and the public’s persuasion to engage in a healthy lifestyle. |
Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis
Using the information, you recorded in Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid, complete the following to document information about the population health/healthcare issue your selected
Administration (President Name) | President Trump | President Obama | President Bush |
Which administrative agency would most likely be responsible for helping you address the healthcare issue you selected?
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Under the Trump administration, the Center for Disease control is more likely to be responsible for addressing the issue of obesity in the United States. Having conducted research on this health concern, there is a high likelihood that the organization understands what it takes to introduce preventive measures.
| Under President Obama’s administration, the United States Department of Health and Human Services was more responsible for assisting in addressing the issue of obesity. This agency is always responsible for the general population health, and it is able to handle the population health concern stipulated above. | Under Bush’s administration, the National Institute of health was highly responsible for addressing the problem of obesity in the United States. The agency understand the problems associated with cardiovascular diseases and other related health factors. |
How do you think your selected healthcare issue might get on the agenda for the current and two previous presidents? How does it stay there? | The selected healthcare issues (Obesity) can get into the current administration’s agenda through legislation and through enforcement of the public concerns.It stays there through advocacy strategies. | Legislations in Congress are one of the best approaches to incorporating the policy on the administrative agenda. It would stay there through lobbying members of the Administration. | Seeking public support and legislation in Congress is a major way of incorporating the policy or health concern on the administrative agenda. It would stay there through lobbying policy-makers of the administration. |
Who would you choose to be the entrepreneur/ champion/sponsor of the healthcare issue you selected for the current and two previous presidents? | For the Trump administration, I would consider the Senate members to champion the healthcare issue and pass legislations that can enhance the implementation of the health concern. | Under the Obama administration, I would choose health activists to sponsor the legislation on Obesity in the United States of America. | Finally, under Bush’s administration, the Center for Disease Control would be the idea champion and sponsor for the selected healthcare issue (obesity). |
The Narrative with the Facts
Obesity is a major health concern in the United States. The conditions continue to impact millions of Americans. For the last three administrations, there have been policy formulation and strategies to help reduce the increasing cases of obesity. Obesity affects both adults and children in the United States. Obesity is attributed to an unhealthy diet, lack of physical exercise, as well as genetic makeup. Addressing the issue of obesity should be a priority for every government (Sisnowski, Handsley, & Street, 2015). In other words, maintaining the health of the population should in the top agenda of every government administration, as has been indicated by the previous three administrations.
The issue of obesity among the United States population is important and should always be included in the legislation. Millions of people are losing their lives due to obesity (Bleich et al., 2016). Also, obesity often leads to other complications such as cardiovascular diseases, which leads to an increase in healthcare spending. As a result, a lot of resources that can be used in other activities are utilized in the healthcare system. Addressing the problem of obesity in the healthcare system should be a major concern for every government to enhance the protection of the population’s health. Therefore, to improve the health of the entire population, there is always the need to address the problem of obesity and related conditions. Passing the legislation on preventive measures is one of the best ways of managing the rising cases of obesity.
Nurses play significant roles in setting the agenda for healthcare issues. Specifically, community nurses understand the problems of obesity, and as a result, they can enhance the formulation of policies that can aid in the eradication of the causes of obesity. Nurses are able to provide first-hand information supported by the research processes to aid in the understanding of the nature of the problems brought about by population health concerns.
Conclusion
The problem of obesity among the United States’ population has been on the top agenda for the last three administrations. Over time, there have been different budget allocations to enhance the management of the increasing problem of obesity. Also, there has been the allocation of different resources to help in the management of obesity. Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder among children both in the United States of America and across the world. Close to Twenty-three percent of American children are overweight.
References
Bleich, S. N., Jones-Smith, J., Jones, H., O’Hara, M., & Rutkow, L. (2016). The voices for healthy kids campaign and US State Legislation to prevent childhood obesity. American journal of public health, 106(3), 436-439. Retrieved from: https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2015.303002
Pierce, S., & Selee, A. (2017). Immigration under Trump: A review of policy shifts in the year since the election. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/TrumpatOne_FINAL.pdf
Sisnowski, J., Handsley, E., & Street, J. M. (2015). Regulatory approaches to obesity prevention: A systematic overview of current laws addressing diet-related risk factors in the European Union and the United States. Health Policy, 119(6), 720-731. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2015.04.013