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NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis

NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis

Grand Canyon University NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis-Step-By-Step Guide

 

This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Grand Canyon University  NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.

 

How to Research and Prepare for NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis                                   

 

Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Grand Canyon University   NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.

 

After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.

 

How to Write the Introduction for NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis                                   

 

The introduction for the Grand Canyon University   NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.

 

How to Write the Body for NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis                                   

 

After the introduction, move into the main part of the NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.

 

Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.

 

How to Write the Conclusion for NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis                                   

 

After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.

 

How to Format the References List for NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis                                   

 

The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.

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Policy Description

¡Policy name: S.Res. 254- Supporting the designation of “Mental Health Awareness Month.”

¡Background: toll on the mental well-being due to COVID-19

¡Policy Interventions

¡The Senate to support awareness month to fight stigmatization

¡Emphasize scientific findings regarding mental health recovery

¡Declare mental health a national priority

You will find important health information regarding minority groups by exploring the following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) links:

  1. Minority Health: http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealt/index.html
  2. Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations: http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealt/populations/remp.html

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

Sample Answer for NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis

With population health needs varying profoundly and impacting diverse populations differently, it is important to have practical interventions to improve access, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care. Such policies are usually structured in a way that addresses specific population needs (McKenzie et al., 2021). Generally, S.Res. 254 proposals are based on the premise that COVID-19 has affected many lives adversely, with mental pressures rising over time. Accordingly, the policy obliges the Senate to support awareness month to fight stigmatization associates with mental health. Other focus areas include emphasizing scientific findings regarding mental health recovery and declaring mental health a national priority. These interventions will reduce the toll on mental well-being due to COVID-19 and ensure that mental health patients receive the attention and care they deserve.

Diverse Population Affected By The Policy

¡Population of Interest: mental health patients

¡Demographics: US adults and children

Defining Characteristics

¡Struggling with mental health

¡Vulnerable to substance abuse

¡Highly stigmatized

¡Often misunderstood and undertreated

¡Social isolation and psychological stress

As the policy states, the population of focus is people with mental health problems. S.Res. 254 addresses the need for both adults and

NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis
NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis

children. This population struggle with mental health well-being and are vulnerable to substance abuse (Carbonell et al., 2020). Given this, their problems and vulnerability to other health issues and complications increase proportionately. Vaccari et al. (2020) further found that people with mental health problems are highly stigmatized since their conditions are not sufficiently understood. They need support as much as possible. Loades et al. (2020) also noted that people with mental health problems are victims of social isolation and psychological stress. Awareness programs and prioritizing their needs will reduce the overall impact of COVID-19 and related problems.

Improving Cost-effectiveness and Health Care Equity

Cost-Effectiveness

¡The policy focuses on preventing the gradual increase in mental health issues

¡Preventive health reduces the overall cost of care

¡Spending on mental health treatment and services is over $200 billion (Baumgartner et al., 2020,).

¡Awareness reduces the overall illness burden in hospitals and families

¡Resources used for mental health treatment and services can be used differently with increased awareness.

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Affordability and access to health care services have been real concerns affecting population health. Cost-effectiveness is a reliable indicator of feasible policies and programs. The policy focuses on preventing the gradual increase in mental health issues, implying that it will be instrumental in reducing the financial burden associated with treating mental health problems. Baumgartner et al. (2020) found that the annual spending towards mental health in the United States is over $200 billion annually. Awareness reduces this cost and the overall illness burden in hospitals and families. Importantly, increased awareness will ensure that resources used for mental health treatment and services can be used in other ways, such as promoting healthy eating.

Improving Cost-effectiveness and Health Care Equity

Improving Health Care Equity

¡Health Care Equity: delivering health care services fairly and quality not according patient or population group characteristics.

S.Res. 254 Improves Health Care Equity by:

¡Recognizing mental well-being as important as other health aspects

¡Prompting the Senate to ensure access to appropriate services of care

¡Supporting overall quality of life for people with mental illnesses

Despite populations varying in terms of needs, geographical locations, and socioeconomic status, all people deserve health care services when needed and in the manner needed. Health care equity is primarily about delivering health care services fairly and properly and not according to patient or population group characteristics (Brown et al., 2019; Butler, 2021). Recognizing mental well-being as important as others health aspects such as physical health is a practical way of promoting health care equity since it ensures that mental health is not treated differently. As a result, mental health patients can receive the deserved services when needed. In the same case, the policy also obliges the Senate to ensure access to appropriate services of care and continuously support the overall quality of life for people with mental illnesses.

Financial Implications of the Policy

Why the Policy is Financially Sound

¡Applies affordable strategies at the organizational and public level

¡The goal is to raises awareness which can be done through different media

¡Information can be broadcasted

¡Uses the public to help those in need for mental health assistance

¡Rationale: financially sound policies justify their financial investments via sustainable outcomes

Although outcomes vary, health care policies should be financially sound. Their overall benefits should outdo the costs after a cost-benefit analysis. One of the ways making the policy financially sound is its application of affordable strategies at the organizational and public levels. Health care organizations can apply the same strategies that the policy proposes to advance mental health care. With the primary goal being to raise awareness, different media can be used, and the information can be broadcasted. Also, informing the public will be instrumental in supporting people with mental health problems in communities at little or considerable cost. Eventually, policy implementation becomes sustainable, and the gains profound.

Incorporating the Nursing Perspective, Ethical, Legal, and Political Factors

¡Incorporating the Nursing Perspective: focuses on making mental health victims more functional and free from illness and disability

Ethical, Legal, and Political Factors

¡Ethical: reduces harm to mental health patients in the American population

¡Legal: the policy is founded on law

¡The policy promotes equal health care services as a right

¡Political: relies on Senate support for implementation and continuous support

¡Rationale: legal and political foundation provides a stable framework for executing the policy recommendations ethically.

Solutions to population health needs apply different perspectives and consider many factors. The nursing perspective is among the highly applied in delivering the best outcomes. The policy applies the nursing perspective by providing a mechanism to make people with mental health problems more functional and free from illness and disability. A nursing perspective is centered on health promotion and reducing adverse outcomes such as suffering and dying in the individual, family, and community contexts (Fu et al., 2020). Ethically, harm reduction is an ethical consideration while promoting equal health services as a right is a legal consideration. Politically, the policy relies on Senate support for implementation and continuous support.

There exist different healthcare policies meant to enhance the delivery of quality healthcare. Some of the current healthcare policies include Affordable Care Policy, Medicare program, Medicaid, Children’s health insurance program, Patient Safety, and Quality Improvement Act. The main purpose of healthcare policies and procedures is to facilitate standardization in healthcare operational activities. Healthcare policies are critical or essential in providing correct procedures to be followed when dealing with issues as well as activities that are important to health and safety. The Affordable Care Act is one of the major current healthcare policies that has transformed the healthcare industry. The Affordable Care Act was passed and signed into law in the year 2010 (Barr, 2016). The policy aimed at providing affordable health insurance coverage to the entire American population. Affordable Care Policy was also created to protect healthcare consumers from costly private insurance companies and would sometimes put restrictions on the healthcare services for the patients. Over the years, millions of Americans have been able to benefit from the Affordable Care policy. Millions of Americans have experienced a significant reduction in healthcare costs. Before the implementation of the Affordable Care Policy, poor Americans could not get effective insurance coverage.  The purpose of the paper is therefore to examine the ACA and its attendant cost-effectiveness, relationship to other policies and advocacy strategies.

How the Affordable Care Policy Was Designed to Improve Cost-Effectiveness  And Health Care Equity for the Population

The Affordable Care Act was designed to enhance healthcare equity. The affordable Care policy was mainly designed to significantly reduce the differences in health outcomes among ethnic, racial, as well as primary language groups (Eichten, 2018). In other words, the policy was meant to address disparities in healthcare delivery and enhance the provision of healthcare to all the population irrespective of the level of income. The major goals of the Affordable Care Act included a reduction in healthcare costs, expansion of healthcare coverage, general improvement in healthcare quality, and population health. These factors were incorporated to reduce health disparities. With the reduced costs and expansion of coverage, ACA was meant to achieve healthcare equity for all the population. Different provisions of the Affordable Care Act directly impact insurers who have been forced to expand the number of people under the cover as well as the conditions under coverage.

To expand healthcare coverage and ensure reduced costs, Affordable Care Act created marketplaces called exchanges where people from different social-economic statuses could purchase health insurance and define their financial aid or assistance eligibility. There are three major types of marketplaces in ACA (Glied & Jackson, 2017). These marketplaces include state-based marketplaces, federal-based marketplaces, as well as state-partnership marketplaces. Since its inception in the healthcare industry, millions of Americans have been able to obtain medical services at a reduced cost. Also, the treatment of some diseases has been fully covered by Obamacare.

Financial Sustainability

Affordable Care Policy is financially sound. Before implementation, it was estimated that Obamacare would reduce the national debt by $140 billion. Also, it was established that the whole policy cost $940 billion considering all the factors that were to be included (Laureate Education, 2018). After the analysis, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office established the policy was effective given its ability to reduce the national budget. Also, The Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act passed Obama taxes as well as budget cuts in different areas, which generally generated more funds for implementing ACA. Given the effective balance of the budget, there were more funds available to offset the cost of the plan. Affordable Care policy accounts for relevant ethical, legal, and political factors as well as nursing perspectives. All these considerations need to be put in place during the implementation. Specifically, the policy advocates for quality healthcare delivery, application of research and evidence-based practices in the treatment processes, as well as dignity and racial sensitivity in the treatment processes. Through continuous legislations, the policy account for the political factors as well as nursing perspectives. All these issues ought to be considered in the implementation process.

Significance of Affordable Care Policy

The Affordable Care Act is related to different state, federal, and global health policies or goals that have been created over the years. In particular, the Affordable Care policy is related to the Global Health Policy (GHP). Global Health Policy mainly facilitates the allocation of resources in different nations and organizations to ensure access to quality healthcare services. Global Health Policy was formulated to address health challenges for the interdependent nations, sectors, and regions with multiple cultures and races, various levels of development, coexistent values, and a variety of capacities. In other words, Global Health Policy was formulated to address disparities when it comes to the management of population health. Similarly, the Affordable Care Policy was formulated to address disparities in the healthcare delivery processes. Also, both the Affordable Care policy and Global Health Policy aimed to improve healthcare delivery quality through research and innovation (Béland et al., 2019). The two organizations are more concerned with the qualification of healthcare professionals. During the formulation of ACA and GHP, there were considerations of different challenges in the healthcare systems, including costs and emerging diseases. Affordable Care Act is also related to the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA), a federal policy passed in the year 2005. Just like PSQIA, the Affordable Care Policy was meant to protect both patients and healthcare workers who are likely to report unsafe conditions. Affordable Care Policy was meant to address the goals of GHP and PSQIA through the allocation of enough resources and an increase in access to healthcare systems.

Advocacy Strategies

To ensure that the entire population benefit from the Affordable Care Policy, there is the need to create awareness and inform potential patients and healthcare professionals about the policy’s benefits. Giving patients a voice by informing them about their rights to healthcare services ensures that they can benefit from ACA. Besides, educating patients on the healthcare insurance policies will enable them to understand the requirements in the Affordable Care Policy and how they can benefit from it. In most cases, patients lack knowledge about different insurance policies, especially how they can draw benefits from them (Scott & Scott, 2020). From a Christian perspective, nurses have the responsibility of creating awareness geared towards ensuring quality health outcomes. Also, there is the need for patients from all races to have just and affordable healthcare services. An advanced registered nurse’s professional and moral obligation to advocate for and promote health and prevent disease among diverse populations. When it comes to the provision of quality care geared towards preventing diseases, nurses need to act as advocates to ensure equal treatment and benefits for all. Therefore, through advocacy, patients or different populations will be able to benefit from the Affordable Care Policy.

Conclusion

The Affordable Care Act is one of the major current healthcare policies that has transformed the healthcare industry. The Affordable Care Act was passed and signed into law in the year 2010. Affordable Care policy was mainly designed to significantly reduce the differences in health outcomes among ethnic, racial, as well as primary language groups. In other words, Affordable Care Act was meant to address disparities in healthcare delivery and enhance the provision of healthcare to all the population irrespective of the level of income. Affordable Care Policy is financially sound. Before implementation, it was estimated that Obamacare would reduce the national debt by $140 billion. To ensure that the entire population benefit from the Affordable Care Policy, there is the need to create awareness and inform potential patients and healthcare professionals about the policy’s benefits.

 

References

Barr, D. A. (2016). Introduction to US Health Policy: the organization, financing, and delivery of health care in America. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Béland, D., Rocco, P., & Waddan, A. (2019). Policy feedback and the politics of the Affordable Care Act. Policy Studies Journal47(2), 395-422. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/psj.12286

Eichten, Z. (2018). Poison Pills: How Subtle Differences in Processes, Public Opinion, and Leadership Doomed the American Health Care Act and Passed the Affordable Care Act. https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/honors_thesis/56/

Glied, S., & Jackson, A. (2017). The future of the Affordable Care Act and insurance coverage. American journal of public health107(4), 538-540. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303665

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Introduction to Health Policy and Law with Joel Teitelbaum [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Scott, S. M., & Scott, P. A. (2020). Nursing, advocacy and public policy. Nursing Ethics, 0969733020961823. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0969733020961823

Sample Answer 2 for NUR-550 Benchmark – Diverse Population Health Policy Analysis

The rate of diabetes among the minority races and groups, as well as related mortality and comorbidity, is high in the country compared to their majority non-Hispanic whites. Close to 13% of African Americans adults suffer from diabetes-related complications and conditions compared to around 7% of non-Hispanic whites (Berkowitz et al., 2015). As a result, minorities are more likely to be admitted due to complications related to diabetes, like end-stage renal conditions and lower limb amputations. Imperatively, effective interventions are critical in addressing the factors that contribute to different disparities among racial minorities. The management of diabetes requires interventions that include regular exercise and a healthy diet (Griffith, Evans & Bor, 2017). As such, the implementation of the Affordable Care Act as a healthcare policy was designed to enhance access to quality healthcare at a competitive cost for the management of conditions like diabetes for many underserved minority races.

Affordable Care Act

Research studies suggest that cultural interventions that entail a collaborative approach to healthcare can mitigate health disparities, enhance how the healthcare system manages and improves outcomes (King et al., 2018). They can also address the challenge of disease burden among underserved minority races and groups. The need to control and reduce the disease burden presented by diabetes among racial minority groups implore on health care policymakers to have effective interventions that are cost-effective alongside improved access to care services.

The enactment of the Affordable Care Act was designed to enhance access to healthcare services for many people through the expansion of the medical insurance marketplace. The main features of this historic legislation were in strengthening and increasing healthcare coverage for individuals with low income. Most of these persons are from minority ethnic groups like Black Americans and Hispanics (Buchmueller et al., 2016). The ACA entails federal subsidies that are aimed at increasing eligibility to Medicaid to each American who have earnings of up to 138% above the federal poverty rate as well as those with incomes between 100% and 400% based on the poverty indices. These individuals can buy insurance through an existing exchange and benefit from massive premium subsidies. Because of the enactment of this law, the number of uninsured Americans, particularly racial minorities, decreased substantially in comparison to the whites (Griffith et al., 2017). Through the enactment of the ACA, the health insurance market, as well as the entire health sector, witnessed reforms that continue to define these interrelated areas. The promulgation of ACA was a boast for the healthcare industry as it increased access to primary care with providers focusing more on ensuring that they attend to the sickest based on “high need, high cost” since these patients take the most substantial part of national healthcare spending (Griffith et al., 2017). The policy is financially sound as it has reduced healthcare costs while improving quality outcomes for patients and healthcare providers as well as demand for better services from the population.

The enactment of the Affordable Care Act has not been smooth due to different court cases that threatened its full implementation as state government opposed to its provisions presented a case that was decided by the Supreme Court in 2012 to uphold the law. The petition before the court was about the provision of guidance on how employers, insurance companies, and state government as well consumers could use the policy without any political, legal, and ethical challenges. However, the ruling by the court offered an advisory opinion and held that the ACA did not violate any constitutional provisions. The act has requirements focused on reforming institutions like eligibility to Medicaid and bars insurers from repudiating coverage because of pre-existing conditions. The law also provides incentives to companies that offer healthcare benefits as well as subsidizes insurance premiums.  The ACA also mandates nurses and health care providers to provide care for people who may have medical insurance (Islam et al., 2015).

The emergence of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) as a result of this policy means that healthcare organizations should prioritize population-oriented health and create collaborations with providers and clients as well as other healthcare personnel in public health and communities King et al., 2018). Through these collaborations, they can expand the health system, control costs associated with care provision, and promote quality, which reduces disparities among the minority racial groups. Through these approaches, they also reduce the burden of chronic conditions like diabetes, particularly among racial minorities. The policy focuses on developing evidence-based interventions and practices to promote health as well as the management of diabetes and other chronic conditions in the community and clinical settings. Through these efforts, the policy attains the goal of preventing and ending disease burden and reduced accessibility by minority racial groups.

Advocacy for the Affordable Care Act

Advocacy for the policy is essential to ensure that many minorities benefit from its implementation. Creating educational programs and public awareness about the need to control diabetes by encouraging racial minorities to purchase medical insurance is essential in promoting and advocating for this policy. The population should have an active community and primary interventions like eating a healthy diet and carrying out physical exercises because diabetes is a chronic condition with an increased resource burden on the healthcare system (Hayes et al., 2017). They need to reduce the chances of having complications due to diabetes by improving access to healthcare and mortality linked to the condition (Ramirez, Estrada & Ruiz, 2017). The implication is that as an advanced registered nurse, it is ethical and morally essential to advocate for the marginalized because it is vital for all to access care. Christian values implore on nurses to have compassion for the suffering and the marginalized. The advocacy activities promoted health and focused on disease prevention, especially among diverse minority populations.

Conclusion

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act remains a critical step focused on improving access to care among racial minorities. As such, nurses as a patient advocate should develop interventions to promote this use of this policy to increase access and reduce disease burden among ethnic and racial minority groups.

References

Berkowitz, S. A., Meigs, J. B., DeWalt, D., Seligman, H. K., Barnard, L. S., Bright, O.-J. M.,

Schow, M., … Wexler, D. J. (2015). Material Need Insecurities, Control of Diabetes Mellitus, and Use of Health Care Resources: Results of the Measuring Economic Insecurity in Diabetes Study. Jama Internal Medicine, Vol.175, No.2, pp.257.

Buchmueller, T. C., Levinson, Z. M., Levy, H. G., & Wolfe, B. L. (2016). Effect of the

Affordable Care Act on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Insurance Coverage. American Journal of Public Health, Vol.106, No.8, pp.1416-21.

Griffith, K., Evans, L., & Bor, J. (2017). The Affordable Care Act Reduced Socioeconomic

Disparities in Health Care Access. Health Affairs, Vol.36, No.8, pp.1503-1510.

Hayes, S. L., Riley, P., Radley, D. C., & McCarthy, D. (2017). Reducing Racial and Ethnic

Disparities in Access to Care: Has the Affordable Care Act Made a Difference? Issue Brief (Commonwealth Fund), 2017, 1-14.

Islam, N., Nadkarni, S. K., Zahn, D., Skillman, M., Kwon, S. C., & Trinh-Shevrin, C. (2015).

Integrating Community Health Workers Within Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Implementation. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

King, C. J., Moreno, J., Coleman, S. V., & Williams, J. F. (2018). Diabetes mortality rates

among African Americans: A descriptive analysis pre and post-Medicaid expansion. Preventive Medicine Reports, Vol.12, pp.20-24.

Ramírez, A. S., Estrada, E., & Ruiz, A. (2017). Mapping the Health Information Landscape in a

Rural, Culturally Diverse Region: Implications for Interventions to Reduce Information Inequality. The Journal of Primary Prevention, Vol.38, No.4, pp.345-362.