WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT: IDENTIFICATION OF HEALTHCARE POLICY

WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT: IDENTIFICATION OF HEALTHCARE POLICY

Purpose

In this course, the students will have the opportunity to identify a healthcare policy concern and community

healthcare concern which can be improved with a change in policy, ordinance or the language in existing

law. The outcome would be the potential for improved health for a population group.  Students will present

a proposed solution or change to an elected official, and provide an analysis of the project.  While students

are not responsible for ensuring the implementation of their identified solution to the healthcare policy

concern, the student is required to meet with an elected official to present the concern and

proposed resolution.  The purpose of this current assignment is to identify the community-based healthcare

policy concern and provide an extensive evidenced-based foundation for proposing a policy change to an

elected official.

Course Outcomes

This assignment enables the student to meet the following course outcomes:

CO 1. Employ strategies to impact the development, implementation, and consequences of holistic focused healthcare policies at the institutional, local, national, and international levels using evidence-based practice principles.  (PO 1)

CO 3. Demonstrate professional and personal growth regarding the advocacy role of the advance practice nurse in healthcare policy for diverse healthcare settings.   (PO 3)

CO 5.  Advocate for institutional, local, national, and international policies that influence person-centered healthcare, consumers, and nursing practice.  (PO 5)

Due DateSunday 11:59 p.m. MT at the end of Week 2

Total Points: 250 points

Requirements

Description of the Assignment

For this assignment, the student must first select a healthcare policy concern.  The concern must be a community-based, public health policy concern.  Student may not use healthcare entities or organizational concerns occurring within a private or public healthcare facility.Scholarly evidence supporting the concernmust be presented that provides a comprehensive picture of the selected healthcare concern as well as the student-identified solution.  The elected official whom the student will interview is also identified in this paper.

Criteria for Content

1. Overview of healthcare policy: This section introduces healthcare policy. It should contain the following elements:

• Define healthcare policy in general and its implications for the nursing profession
• Define the role of advocacy and how it can impact healthcare policy
• Explain how the role of advocacy is consistent with the responsibilities of an advance practice nurse

1. Identification of selected healthcare policy concern: This section provides foundational information regarding the student-selected healthcare policy concern.  It should contain the following elements:

• Specifically identify the selected healthcare policyconcern
• Description of the impacted population group
• Provide a comprehensive description of the selected healthcare concern by including:
  • How frequently does it occur?
  • What impact does the selected healthcare concern have upon the community and population group?

1. Description of student-identified solution to the selected healthcare concern: This section presents a comprehensive picture of the student-selected solution to the selected healthcare concern.  It should contain the following elements:

• Identify, with specific detail, the solution to the student-selected healthcare concern
• Identify the following areas:
  • What would be the positive outcome if the solution was implemented?
  • What changes would need to occur in the community to foster implementation?
  • What changes would need to occur in the population group to foster implementation?
  • What measureable actions will demonstrate a positive outcome if the solution was implemented?
  • What might be 2 (two) challenges to implementing the proposed solution and how can each of these challenges be avoided or resolved?

1. Identification of elected official: This section identifies the elected official that the student will present the selected healthcare concern and its solution to.  It should contain the following elements:

• The name of the elected official
• The position of the elected official
• Explanation of why this individual was selected

1. Conclusion: This section provides a comprehensive and concise review of the key elements of the assignment.

Solution:

Overview of the Healthcare Policy

Over the last couple of years, the area of healthcare policy has experienced a fast as well as dynamic change. Precisely, healthcare policy has exponentially grown to cover a plethora of aspects within the realm of healthcare. These aspects range from operations of healthcare facilities to implementation of health insurance plans.  According to Cole, Wellard, and Mummery (2014), healthcare policy involves plans, decisions, and actions undertaken in order to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society. As such, explicit healthcare policy is fundamental when it comes to outlining priorities as well as the expected roles of different stakeholders within the healthcare sector.

Kalaitzidis and Jewell (2015) have stressed that healthcare policy normally has a substantial implication on the nursing practice. Specifically, through policy work, it becomes possible for nurses to influence practice standards and various processes in the healthcare setting. This is for the primary purpose of ensuring that the quality of patient care is enhanced (Hanne, Greenhalgh, Blatch-Jones, Glover, & Raftery, 2017).  Additionally, healthcare policy usually impacts the allocation of resources, which in turn supports the delivery of healthcare services to the patients.

The role of advocacy in healthcare cannot be underestimated. Precisely, it plays a pivotal role in building strong health systems. Advocacy also helps greatly in holding the government accountable in relation to meeting the health needs of all citizens including marginalized groups (Cole et al., 2014). Taking this into consideration, it is with no doubt that role of the advocacy tallies with those of advanced nursing practice owing to the fact that both helps enormously in enhancing safe and effective healthcare delivery systems by voicing a wide range of healthcare concerns.  Besides, it has been established that advanced practice nurses usually manage patient care directly as well as enhanced positive patient outcomes through advocacy.  Therefore, it is the responsibility of advanced practice nurses to ensure