In a Microsoft Word document of 2-3 pages formatted in APA style, you will answer three questions related to your opportunity as a nurse and an advocate. The first two questions relate to influencing a bill that is traveling through the legislative process. The third question refers you to the social determinants of health and asks you to think specifically on your role as a nurse in influencing social determinants of health.
Answer the following questions:
What parts of the lawmaking process does a nurse have an opportunity to influence the final bill passage?
List at least two ways that this influence can take place. In your opinion, would one way be preferable over the other?
Reviewing the social determinants of health, select one to respond to this question:
What role can nurses play in promoting health status through policy changes directly affecting this social determinant?
Write each question as a new topic area and then follow with a paragraph or two to answer the question. You may find it necessary to search for answers to the questions outside of the assigned reading.
Nurse Role in Influencing the Legislative Process
The hope of every legislator who introduces a new health bill to the House for debate is that the bill will successfully go through the legislative process, be signed into law by the president, and be implemented to improve the health outcomes and quality of life of the target population. Nurses, in their advocacy role, have an influence on the legislative process as their opinions can cause a bill to either pass or flop (Williams et al., 2018). The legislative process, as outlined by the United States Congress, involves several key stages namely; introduction and referral, committee consideration and debate, calendars & scheduling, House floor hearing, Senate hearing, executive business, resolving differences, and presidential actions (Congress.gov., n.d.). This paper will describe parts of the lawmaking process that a nurse has an opportunity to influence, ways through which the influence can take place, and the nurse’s role in promoting health status through policy.
What parts of the lawmaking process does a nurse have an opportunity to influence the final bill passage?
The nurse has an opportunity to influence the passage of a bill in areas that require joint decision-making by experts and stakeholders. As healthcare experts, nurses can influence the passage of a bill at the introductory stage, during both House and Senate hearing stages, and when resolving differences that might have arisen before the bill is presented to the President for action (Congress.gov., n.d.). According to Williams et al. (2018), nurses have the desired academic and clinical expertise that they can apply to professionally engage with policy-makers in the decision-making process. During the introduction phase, the nurse helps legislators to analyze a bill and predict its potential impacts on the target population. A bill that will address issues that are negatively affecting the health of populations is likely to push through to the final stage. Additionally, during House and Senate hearing stages and when resolving differences, the nurse utilizes evidence-based research to help the stakeholders to understand why a bill should either be considered or dropped (Williams et al., 2018). Generally, the nurse’s input in the legislative process is highly necessary as it supports the enactment of laws that have positive impacts on the health status of populations.
List at least two ways that this influence can take place. In your opinion, would one way be preferable over the other?
Nurses can influence policy in a number of ways. Examples include becoming actively involved in politics and holding leadership positions, participating in committees and city councils where matters related to healthcare policy are discussed, joining professional nursing organizations, becoming state representatives on health policy issues, engaging directly with elected officials working with them to address health disparities, and voting in support of a good policy or to eliminate a bad policy (Brusie, 2021). The most preferred way is to join a professional nursing organization that actively participates in advocacy. In such organizations, the nurse acts as a lobbyist who presents nursing issues to the policymakers for discussion and decision-making (Williams et al., 2018). However, it is important to note that irrespective of the chosen strategy, the nurse must use his or her clinical expertise to influence policies that will improve the health status of the target groups.
Reviewing the social determinants of health
Health policies often focus on improving social determinants of health. Healthcare access and quality form one category of social determinants of health that the Healthy People program targets to improve by 2030. Prescription drugs are mostly used by people who have been diagnosed with chronic diseases. Patients who lack medical insurance have the challenge of accessing prescription drugs which are normally very expensive. Such patients are likely to reduce doses, skip medications, or stop taking drugs leading to non-compliance and poor outcomes (Healthy People 2030). A study by Ali et al. (2022) cited poverty levels and lack of medical insurance as the main barriers related to the lack of access to costly prescription medications for patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Policy reforms are necessary to increase people’s access to prescription drugs.
What role can nurses play in promoting health status through policy changes directly affecting this social determinant?
An important aspect of healthcare access and quality that is of great importance for nurses involved in advocacy is access to prescription drugs by patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The specific goal aligned with this determinant is to “increase the proportion of people with prescription drug insurance-AHS-03 (Healthy People 2030).” Nurses can promote the health status of patients with chronic illnesses by advocating for the enactment and implementation of a policy that aims to increase health coverage. Precisely, the nurse can advocate for a policy change to direct the government to provide prescription drug insurance to its citizens with chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes (Ali et al., 2022). When this policy becomes law, patients with chronic conditions will be able to access prescription medications at reduced costs. Such a move will support the realization of an important Healthy People 2030 objective.
Conclusion
The nurse’s involvement in the lawmaking process is a current trend in healthcare policy. The nurse has an opportunity to influence policy at the introductory stage, during both House and Senate hearing stages, and when resolving differences that might have arisen before the bill is presented to the President for action. Although there are several ways through which nurses can influence a health policy, joining a professional nursing organization gives the nurse an opportunity to become a lobbyist who presents nursing issues to the policymakers for discussion and decision-making. Nurses play an important role in promoting the health status of chronically ill patients by advocating for a policy change to direct the government to provide prescription drug insurance.
References
Ali, A. M., Cobran, E. K. & Young, H. N. (2022). Barriers associated with access to prescription medications in patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus treated at federally qualified health centers. Pharmacy, 10, 79. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/pharmacy10040079
Brusie, C. (2021). ANA President encourages nurses to get into politics and advocacy. https://nurse.org/articles/american-nurses-association-politics-advocacy/
Congress.gov. (n.d.). The legislative process: Overview. https://www.congress.gov/legislative-process
Healthy People 2030. (n.d.). Increase the proportion of people with prescription drug insurance — AHS‑03. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/health-care-access-and-quality/increase-proportion-people-prescription-drug-insurance-ahs-03
Williams, S. D., Phillips, J. M. & Koyama, K. (2018). Nurse advocacy: Adopting a health in all policies approach. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(3). https://ojin.nursingworld.org/table-of-contents/volume-23-2018/number-3-september-2018/adopting-health-in-all-policies-approach/