Healthcare Problems Through Policy Briefs.
Choose an issues to address in the nursing field. Write a policy brief that summarizes the issue, explains the effect on the population, and proposes a solution to the issue.
Follow this outline when writing the policy brief:
1.Describe the policy health issue. Include the following information: (a) what population is affected, (b) at what level does it occur (local, state, or national), and (c) evidence about the issues supported by resources.
2.Create a problem statement.Healthcare Problems Through Policy Briefs.
3.Provide suggestions for addressing the health issue caused by the current policy. Describe what steps are required to initiate policy change. Include necessary stakeholders (government officials, administrator) and budget or funding considerations, if applicable.
4.Discuss the impact on the health care delivery system.Healthcare Problems Through Policy Briefs.
Include three peer-reviewed sources published in the last 5 years and two other sources to support the policy brief.
Prepare In the APA format. An abstract is not required.
The government often receives solutions of healthcare problems through policy briefs. To draw attention to important evidences health professionals also use policy briefs. It refers to a concise summary of a specific issue together with the options for resolution and best option recommendations. The policy brief target is usually the government and the policymakers as well as other parties or individuals interested in influencing or formulating policies. This paper seeks to present a policy health issue, a problem statement related, suggestions for resolving as well as issues caused by the current policy together with the policy impact on the health system.Healthcare Problems Through Policy Briefs.
The policy health issue addressed in this paper is elimination of heath disparities. This problem affects specific population groups in the US including the marginalized, economically disadvantaged and the disabled. These include the Blacks and American Indians and Alaska Natives (National Center for Health Statistics, 2016). This issue has local, state, national and global impacts on the society as the inferior populations are discriminated against undermining their access of healthcare facilities. Moreover, health illiteracy and increased incidences of infections tend to affect the population. Examples of health disparities include sex, race and ethnicity as well as economic and personal abilities, education, income, geography and sexual orientation.Healthcare Problems Through Policy Briefs.
Moreover, health disparities result in increased morbidity and mortality rates of the affected populations. This is because; this population is overwhelmed by heart diseases, diabetes and HIV among other terminal illnesses and with reduced access of care and health education as well as financial capabilities to afford management of these diseases, they end up losing their lives in increased numbers. Increased infectious diseases spill over their impact to the local, state and national as well as global levels causing adverse health outcomes. The cause of health disparities often relate to poor healthcare access, lack of interpreters, time constraints, lack of a diversified workforce in the health system and systematic factors that bring about the quality differences in the delivery of care. Disparities are often observed in the public health care system.Healthcare Problems Through Policy Briefs.
Problem statement
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) together with the World Health Organization is to ensure access of health services by both the US and the populations of the world. However, the continued increase in health disparities undermines the successful operations of these organizations in healthcare. The CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report – United States, 2013 acknowledges the presence of multiple disparities and their causes (World Health Organization, 2017). These include education, disability status, race and ethnicity, income, social characteristics and sex. These are influenced by social determinants, environmental exposures, behavioral risk factors and inequalities in the wide range of disorders. The increase mortality and morbidity rate is an indicator of a failing health system. The US ranks top among the nations with increased health disparities which makes it a concern in the healthcare system.Healthcare Problems Through Policy Briefs.
Addressing health disparities is vital for a successful healthcare system. It improves the overall health quality and healthcare outcomes. The issue of health disparities can be addressed through advocacy for the minority rights. Advocacy through legislation entails working together with lawmaking bodies and individual lawmakers with the intention of gaining support regarding particular needs, initiatives or course of action. Nursing advocacy is important in policy changes, amendment, introduction and implementation. Moreover patient dignity can be promoted through the respect of the nursing ethical and moral principles which include autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice (Bourgois, Holmes, Sue & Quesada, 2017). The policy can be submitted to the state’s legislature to advocate for policy implementation by the House. The policy change will involve multiple steps agenda building, formulation, adoption, implementation, evaluation and termination. Identification of the need is the initial stage followed by stakeholder identification, information gathering, policy drafting, consultation, finalizing and approval, review the procedure and implantation.Healthcare Problems Through Policy Briefs.
The stakeholders of health policy issues include the government. The government accepts or rejects the law. It is the government that also seeks solutions to improve the healthcare and wellbeing of the people by addressing the health problems (Baker et al., 2018). The legislatures are also part of the stakeholders. They help sponsor policies to the house and as well as help to amend, reject and vote in policies to make them laws. Other stakeholders include the healthcare facilities, the providers as well as the patients, their families and advocacy groups that fight for minority rights. The budget or funding considerations for policy briefs come from interested individuals, groups and sponsoring legislatures.Healthcare Problems Through Policy Briefs.
The healthcare system is largely affected by the presence of disparities. This is because, they cripple the efforts for accessibility of care and reduce the quality of services delivered to the general population. This in turn results in increased spread of diseases, increase in the cost, morbidity and mortality rates of the marginalized populations. Consequently, healthcare professionals experience burnout and eventually increased turnovers result in nursing shortage (Oppel & Young, 2018). The cost of healthcare increases from increased infections and healthcare needs of the population which might eventually become unsustainable. The consequences result in the development of an overpopulated healthcare system with poor quality services.Healthcare Problems Through Policy Briefs.