Discussion: Influencing Health and Social Policy
What are the unmet health care needs you see in your community? What determinants of health are related to these unmet needs and what determinants require action and advocacy efforts? How do your identified issues impact your work and your sphere of influence? Consider some of the following examples that affect communities: various needs of veterans (homelessness, post-traumatic stress), immigration, undocumented workers, medical and/or legalized marijuana, reproductive health care, unemployment, poor environmental conditions, limited access to health care, and lack of heath care. How do these issues impact community health and what is your role in the solution of these issues?
To prepare for this Discussion, review the following:
• Discussion Rubric, provided in the Course Information area
• The Writing Resources tab
• This week’s readings in the Resources pertaining to influences on health and social policy
By Day 3 of Week 5
Post a response to the following:
• How do the determinants of health (as listed in the lead-in) impact the health of your community?
• How does a particular health determinant impact your practice? (You may choose to address a health determinant that is not listed.)
• As a nursing professional, what can you do about it?
• What are several ways that you can advocate for change in this area?
• Why might you choose to not get professionally involved in this area or in others like it?
Note Initial Post: A 3-paragraph (at least 350 words) response. Be sure to use evidence from the readings and include in-text citations. Utilize essay-level writing practice and skills, including the use of transitional material and organizational frames. Avoid quotes; paraphrase to incorporate evidence into your own writing. A reference list is required. Use the most current evidence (usually less than or equal to 5 years old).
SAMPLE ANSWER
Emergency Nursing
Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) affect healthcare provision for every healthcare stakeholder. Most Social Determinants of Health trigger conditions that healthcare providers find challenging to manage. This discussion focuses on illustrating the effects of SDOH on a nurse serving at the emergency unit within the Florida community.
Social Determinants within the community
Unemployment, poverty, and the lack of awareness of healthcare issues are the three main SDOHs affecting the community’s health. Most people within the community can rarely access proper care because they cannot afford insurance. Due to a lack of knowledge on healthcare matters, most of these people also engage in dangerous behavior that risks their health. For example, many people eat junk food which explains the surging numbers of persons with obesity and diabetes complications within the population.
Specific SDOH that affects the emergency nursing unit
Poverty, unemployment, and lack of insurance coverage are the SDOHs with the largest impact on the emergency department (Persaud, 2018). An emergency nurse principal requires that every patient be stabilized before being triggered to pay for the services. The challenge, however, arises when the patient does not have any insurance or does not have a way of compensating for the services offered. As a result, it creates an ethical dilemma on whether to serve the patients or keep them waiting until they can afford services. Most nurses offer emergency services at their own expense and, at times, rarely get compensated for their services (Persaud, 2018).
Proposed solution and advocacy
As a nursing professional, the solution lies in advocating for the community to the government so that every community member can access hospital emergency coverage. Once everyone has an emergency cover, it is possible to offer them services with the surety of being compensated. There are several ways an emergency nurse can advocate for change (Williams et al., 2018). One way is by approaching a legislature and forcing them to implement a policy where every individual can access emergency coverage. Another way is through the American Nursing Association, which is a body that reports nurse grievances to the department of health. Through the model proposed, the SDOH shall have been addressed partially. However, some factors can limit a nurse’s involvement in advocacy. First is the lack of support from the department and the healthcare organization. Additionally, the lack of sufficient resources to enhance the selected policy. Based on these factors, dealing with the issue rather efficiently remains challenging.
References
Persaud, S. (2018). Addressing social determinants of health through advocacy. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 42(2), 123–128. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/wk/naq/2018/00000042/00000002/art00007.
Williams, S. D., Phillips, J. M., & Koyama, K. (2018). Nurse Advocacy: Adopting a health in all policies approach. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(3). http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-23-2018/No3-Sept-2018/Policy-Advocacy.html.
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