DQ: As an advanced registered nurse, discuss your future role in advocating for equitable population health services and policies
NUR 550 Topic 8 DQ 2
DQ As an advanced registered nurse, discuss your future role in advocating for equitable population health services and policies
“Health equity” refers to a state characterized by the absence of systematic inequalities in health. While this state is usually referred to in aspirational terms, because inequalities are pervasive and arguably will never be eliminated, the policy goal of moving toward health equity implies attempts to reduce health inequalities to a minimal level. It is therefore “an ethical concept, grounded in the principle of distributive justice” and connected to a field of research that is “unavoidably politicized.” Advocacy is recognized as a means of promoting policies that help improve health equity. These policies take action on the SDH, either through universal provision of services, as part of strategies to improve the health of disadvantaged groups, or by “leveling up” the health of less advantaged groups to that enjoyed by more advantaged groups in society. National policies have been implemented in phases throughout the last two decades to reduce and eliminate health disparities, and more recently, attain the highest level of care among all population groups across America (i.e., health equity) (Williams et al., 2015).
As an advanced registered nurse, I hope to use evidence proven by research to influence decision makers and other stakeholders to support or implement policies that contribute to improving health equity. Possible challenge would include lack of representation and inability to convince policy makers of the existence or severity of certain health disparities. Promoting greater uptake and enforcement of human rights legislation in international and national legislatures would provide “legislative hooks” for advocacy efforts to latch on to. Job shadowing activities could be another method to increase understanding between researchers and policymakers. Such activities would increase interactions and build working relationships between policymakers and researchers, thereby helping bring research evidence more efficiently to decision-making processes, educate policymakers about the world of science and the validity of evidence, and inform researchers about the “messy and nonlinear” processes and data needs of the policymaking world (Farrer et al., 2015)
Reference
Farrer, L., Marinetti, C., Cavaco, Y. K., & Costongs, C. (2015). Advocacy for health equity: a synthesis review. The Milbank quarterly, 93(2), 392–437. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0009.12112
Williams, J. S., Walker, R. J., & Egede, L. E. (2016). Achieving Equity in an Evolving Healthcare System: Opportunities and Challenges. The American journal of the medical sciences, 351(1), 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjms.2015.10.012
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RESPOND HERE (150 WORDS, 3 REFERENCES)
This is insightful, Ngozi; healthcare equity involves the provision of quality healthcare services to all the population irrespective of
DQ As an advanced registered nurse, discuss your future role in advocating for equitable population health services and policies
their levels of income, race, places of origin, age, as well as their location. The major role of the health department is to ensure equitable distribution of healthcare services and to ensure improvement in the general health of the population (Williams et al., 2016). Given that it is difficult to eradicate inequalities, there are always attempts to try and reduce cases of inequalities in terms of healthcare resources. Registered nurses have full responsibilities in ensuring the provision of equitable healthcare services (Cookson et al., 2018). They can reach out to governmental institutions to try and ensure equality of healthcare services. National policies have been implemented in phases throughout the last two decades to reduce and eliminate health disparities, and more recently, attain the highest level of care among all population groups across America (Lane et al., 2017). Some of the challenges that may be encountered in advocating for equitable healthcare services include healthcare policies, unequal distribution of healthcare resources, as well as legislative challenges.
References
Cookson, R., Asaria, M., Ali, S., Shaw, R., Doran, T., & Goldblatt, P. (2018). Health equity monitoring for healthcare quality assurance. Social Science & Medicine, 198, 148-156. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953618300042
Lane, H., Sarkies, M., Martin, J., & Haines, T. (2017). Equity in healthcare resource allocation decision making: a systematic review. Social science & medicine, 175, 11-27. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953616306827
Williams, J. S., Walker, R. J., & Egede, L. E. (2016). Achieving Equity in an Evolving Healthcare System: Opportunities and Challenges. The American journal of the medical sciences, 351(1), 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjms.2015.10.012
As an advanced registered nurse my future role in advocating for equitable population health services and policies would need to start with having a knowledge base and understanding of the social determinates of health (SDOH) so that I will be able to understand the root causes of poor health among certain populations to be able to provide adequate and realistic solutions (Sundean, 2019). Performing a community needs assessment will also help with determining the needs of the community and help make policy advocacy more successful. Once doing the above I would help to inform, educate, and empower others regarding the health issues that are being faced. From there I would need to form community partnerships and an action plan to help identify and solve the health problems that are present (Sundean, 2019). Policies would need to be created with support from individuals and the communities. A challenge or barrier that I would anticipate would be that of a lack of cooperation from health institutions and/or the healthcare team in supporting my advocacy. I would address this challenge/barrier by making sure I take the time to develop a compelling request with an appropriate timeframe, communicate clearly and concisely the impact that the situation I am addressing impacts those involved, make sure that I am competent and can build credibility and trustworthiness to back the case I am presenting with facts and accurate data, and lastly create a collaborative environment with the stakeholders (Tomajan, 2012).
References:
Sundean, L. (2019). Overview of community, public, and population health. In D. R. Editor. & J. C. Editor (Eds.), Population health for nurses: Improving Community Outcomes (pp. 4-16). Springer Publishing. doi:10.1891/9780826148346.0001
Tomajan, K. (2012). Advocating for nurses and nursing. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 17(1), Manuscript 4. doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol17no01Man04
RESPOND HERE (150 WORDS, 3 REFERENCES)
This is insightful, Julie; advanced registered nurses play significant roles in ensuring the provision of equitable care to the entire population. Advanced practice registered nurses also have the responsibility of ensuring the delivery of quality healthcare services to all the patients and population (Sundean, 2019). Advanced practice registered nurses can take part in the policy formulation processes aimed at establishing the platforms for delivering quality healthcare services. In most cases, policies ought to be created with support from individuals and the members of the community (Appelbaum & Batt, 2020). Lack of corporation from the healthcare providers can hinder the progress towards the delivery of equitable care to all the members of the population (Culyer, 2019). In most cases, healthcare institutions/providers need to be engaged in the policy-making processes to ensure that there is effective implementation of strategies required for successful outcomes. Besides, strict policies and unequal distribution of healthcare resources may interfere with the distribution of equitable healthcare services.