Upon completion of this assignment, you should be able to:
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Advocate for the nursing profession in healthcare policy and healthcare
communities
Develop ethical interventions to influence healthcare policy
Introduction
This week you will be looking to the future and developing plans to actually move your
policy issue further along to the next step in the policy cycle. Consider how you will
continue to advocate for your chosen topic. Plan what actions must be taken and
develop a presentation for your colleagues
Instructions
1. Develop a Policy Action Plan to outline continued advocacy for your health
policy issue. This assignment should be approximately 2-4 pages excluding
references. The written Policy Action Plan must include the following:
o Clearly identify the health policy topic and the goal of your policy
advocacy
o Plan explicitly outlines the policy vehicle(s) and /or legislative
authority. Include related rationale for addressing the problem and
goal (current and pending)
o Summary of the historic review, key landmarks, and significant
outcomes
o Review of all stakeholders, along with their positions and views on
the issue. Identify critical alliances
o Detailed outline of all plan activities/components and timeline
including:
▪ Stakeholder engagement activities
▪ Development and distribution plan for “message
materials”
▪ Identify lobbying activities and public hearings as well as
other relevant legislative sessions & policy-making
activities
▪ Include legislative activity & budget cycle considerations
o Clearly outline strategic leadership role
Guidelines: Policy Action Plan
A strategic plan to engage stakeholders and others to influence an identified policycentric problem with an identified set of policy-related actions and timeline. Your action
plan will relate to and build upon your policy brief (subject matter and policy
opportunity explained in the Policy Brief). It will identify all relevant stakeholders,
particularly those you will be working to engage and or mitigate. It will include relevant
action steps and strategies you expect to implement and the timetable (1-2 years) as it
relates to the appropriate/relevant legislative calendar and your strategies.
Purpose:
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To apply leadership skills and tactics in the development of an action plan to
influence public health policy on a selected
problem/subject/issue/opportunity.
To reflect on one’s personal leadership strengths and style to identify
approaches, strategies, tactics that will be utilized in the development and
implementation of a policy action plan
To apply knowledge of the public policymaking process and engage
stakeholders and others to identify a timeline and strategic approach to
influencing an identified health policy topic/area of interest
Running head: HEALTH POLICY ADVOCACY
Health Policy Advocacy
Student’s name:
Institutional affiliation:
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HEALTH POLICY ADVOCACY
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Health Policy Advocacy
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What is your topic of interest?
The selected topic of interest is mental health. Mental health is definitely a public health
area that requires policy changes because many individuals are still unaware of the prevalence of
mental health in the society coupled with low access to mental healthcare (Altiraifi & Rapfogel,
2020).
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Why is this health policy topic important?
Mental health is an important area of concern because many individuals lack access to
mental healthcare; there are low literacy levels in the community regarding mental health; mental
health is linked as a causative factor for other diseases; and lack of proper legislations to guide
assistance towards those affected by mental health (Mental Health America, 2021). Mental
health is also an important current legislative area because of the ongoing pandemic that has
caused increased prevalence of mental health in the community. The issue of mental health is
also of critical concern because of the increased suicides, homicides, and mass shootings,
attributed to an increase in mental health instability among individuals. Mental health is also of
importance because it is ultimately linked to national economic development and productivity as
it influences productivity and dependence of individuals (Mental Health America, 2021). Mental
health also influences academic and personal development, making it a critical area of concern
for the government and society.
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Provide evidence to support your position
According to National Alliance on Mental Illness (2021), at least 1 in 5 adults exhibit a
mental disease each year. Similarly important is the fact that at least 1 in every 6 youths aged 617 exhibit a mental illness each year. It is also important to note that at least 75% of all mental
HEALTH POLICY ADVOCACY
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health issues begin by age 24 and at least 50% of mental health patients begin suffering by age
14 (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2021). It is also saddening that suicide is the second
leading cause of death among those aged 10-34. According to National Alliance on Mental
Illness (2021), only 44.8% of adults received mental health treatment in 2019, which is
compared to only 50.6% of youths aged 6-17 who received mental health treatment in 2016.
Evidence also suggests that those with depression have a 40% increased risk of developing
metabolic and cardiovascular diseases (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2021). Mental health
issues are also linked with substance use disorder, where 18.4% of adults with mental issues used
substances in 2019. When focusing on the impact of mental health on the family and society, at
least 8.4 million people take care of a loved one that is suffering from mental health (National
Alliance on Mental Illness, 2021). This translates to at least 32 hours per week of unpaid care,
while at the same time reducing the productivity of the caregivers in their employment. When
focusing on the impact of mental health on the economy, mental health causes at least $193.2
billion loss each year. These findings ultimately paint a gruesome picture of the impact of mental
health in the society, necessitating immediate policy changes to address this menace.
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What legislator will you attempt to visit?
I will attempt to visit Senator Patty Murray, who is the chairperson of the U.S. Senate
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. I believe that entrusting Senator Murray
with my policy change proposal could help to initiate real changes in mental healthcare because
she has an influential position in the Senate committee on health.
References
HEALTH POLICY ADVOCACY
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Altiraifi, A., & Rapfogel, N. (2020). Mental Health Care Was Severely Inequitable, Then Came
the Coronavirus Crisis. Retrieved from Center for American Progress:
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/disability/reports/2020/09/10/490221/mentalhealth-care-severely-inequitable-came-coronavirus-crisis/
Mental Health America. (2021). Mental Health Policy. Retrieved from Mental Health America:
https://mhanational.org/policy-issues
National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2021). Mental Health By the Numbers. Retrieved from
National Alliance on Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org/mhstats
Health Policy Advocacy Plan
Purpose:
This assignment is intended to allow you to show evidence of achievement of:
LO 1: Develop a plan to influence the passage of a health-related bill
LO 2: Discuss the policy development process at the different levels of government
Requirements:
Introduction:
Now that you have researched your chosen health policy topic and have taken initial
steps into the legislative process, it is time to update your advocacy plan. Using
the information you have obtained from the assigned reading and your additional
research, provide a more detailed description of your chosen health policy and it’s
progress within the policy development process.
Instructions:
For your initial discussion post include the following:
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Provide background information on your chosen health policy topic
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Provide the legislative history of your health policy.
o Where is it in the policy development process?
o What are the next legislative steps?
What is your personal plan for advocating for your chosen health policy?
Compare and contrast the development and process of your chosen health
policy if it were progressing through different levels of government (i.e. state
vs. federal).
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Mental Health Policy Advocacy Plan
Name
Institution
Course
Instructor
Date
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Mental Health Policy Advocacy Plan
Mental health is a severe health problem that continues to affect many people, both
young and adults. Several statistics fortify this assertion. For example, the National Alliance on
Mental Illness (2021) concede that 1 in every person has mental illness annually. Conversely, 75
percent of mental illness begins at the age of 24. According to Rtor.org (2021), Maryland State
estimates that 3.3 percent of its population suffers from mental illness. More appalling is that
mental illness has dire consequences, such as leading people to commit suicide. Although there
has been a raft of measures to alleviate the mental health menace in the United States, the
problem persists with startling statistics. The menace of mental illness in Maryland State can be
effectively addressed by developing a mental health policy that balances the needs of healthcare
providers and mentally ill patients.
Background Information about Mental Health Policy
Mental health policy has a rich history in the United States. The story commences with
the dissolution consensus of treating people with mental disorders in public hospitals in 1945 to
believing in having community care and treatment that will handle matters affecting mentally
challenged individuals (Grob, 2016). This belief morphed into the crusade about having
community mental health centers act of 1963 (CMHCAs), although the process was tedious and
daunting. This policy focused on offering federal funding to community-based mental health
facilities to ensure people with a mental health condition receive quality care.
Noteworthy, other government mitigations, such as social welfare, have played an
essential role in improving the well-being of patients suffering from mental disorders (Unite for
Sight, 2021). The mental health fraternity has recently grappled with enactments such as the
mental health parity and addiction equity act of 2008 (MHPAEA). This legislation ensures that
3
patients suffering from mental disorders benefit from insurance issuers and group health plans
(CMS.gov, n.p.). As new perspectives are being drawn regarding mental illness, so does the
enactment of new policies. In the future, mental health policy will be enacted to ensure that
mentally challenged patients receive quality care. Most importantly, the policy is the
development process where information about mental illness will be easily accessible, which will
reduce cases of menace. Perhaps in the future, society will be free from any claims of mental
illness. The policy is believed to be in the earlier mentioned development process. The most
focus has been shifted to making the treatment as affordable as possible and creating awareness
about the illness. Future legislative steps ensure that patients who have mental illness are given
the attention they need, mainly focusing on creating as considerable awareness about the illness
as possible.
Personal Plan for Advocating Healthy Policy
Developing and making health policy requires concerted efforts. From a personal
standpoint, an attempt to lobby with Slaw makers, especially Senator Patty Murray, the
chairperson of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, will be
impactful. Having Senator Murray to further the policy lobby is ideal because she has an
influential capability as a lawmaker. Besides, her position comes in handy to convince the health
committee about the projected changes in mental illness patients.
Comparative Analysis of Development and Process of Mental Health Policy progressing
through State vs. Federal Governments
Policy formulation is a delicate process that requires keen attention. When developing a
policy, the main aspects include informing, educating, and empowering people regarding their
health. Conversely, there is an element of mobilization to ensure the proposed policy solves the
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present problem. Both state and federal governments scrutinize proposed policies to ensure that
the policy is detailed and easy to implement (Heikkila & Cairney, 2018). On the contrary, state
and federal governments differ in the process of developing policy as each has unique laws
governing the process of drafting and enacting a law. For instance, the Maryland Department of
Health (MDH) policies formulation and implementation differ from federal policies. MDH
policies and procedures must be accompanied by a signature of approval for the policy to be
valid.
Noteworthy, it is a requirement for MDH policies to be written in simple English and
must only comprise little and vital technical, legal, or medical terminologies. MDH policies are
formatted comprising of five main components: an executive summary, background, policy
statements, references, and addenda, exhibits, and attachments (Maryland.gov, n.d.). On the
contrary, federal governments recheck the contents of the state proposals and conduct a costbenefit analysis alongside several meetings with different stakeholders before enacting a policy.
From a process standpoint, policies in states can be promulgated for ongoing issues of significant
importance to the department, unlike federal guidelines that require a policy to be people-centric
(Heikkila & Cairney, 2018). In-State such as Maryland, policy initiators work cooperatively with
MDH P &P administrators to prepare and update policies to guarantee timely processing, unlike
in federal governments where policy initiators must collaborate with lawmakers to adopt the
policy.
References
5
CMS.gov. (n.d.). The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act (MHPAEA).
https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Programs-and-Initiatives/Other-InsuranceProtections/mhpaea_factsheet
Grob, G. N. (2016). Community mental health policy in America: lessons learned. Isr J
Psychiatry Relat Sci, 53(1).
Heikkila, T., & Cairney, P. (2018). Comparison of theories of the policy process. In Theories of
the policy process (pp. 301-327). Routledge.
Maryland.gov. (n.d.). MDH Policies- Summary of Policy Implementation Guidelines
https://health.maryland.gov/Pages/guidesum.aspx
National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2021). Mental Health by the Numbers.
https://www.nami.org/mhstats
Rtor.org. (2021). Mental Health Resources in Maryland. https://www.rtor.org/directory/mentalhealth-maryland/
Unite for Sight. (2021). Module 2: A Brief History of Mental Illness and the U.S. Mental Health
Care System. https://www.uniteforsight.org/mental-health/module2
LEGISLATIVE VISIT
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Legislative Visit
Rita Dexter
South College
NSG6410
Dr. Douglas Turner
LEGISLATIVE VISIT
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Legislative Visit
The Legislative proceeding, I followed was on healthcare workforce, where Dr. David
Skorton reveals the projected high shortage of physicians in the years to come. The legislative
committee was held on May 20, 2021, and shed light on the plight of the patients in case the
issue of nurse and physician shortages persists (C-Span Organization, 2021). The president
estimated that the country would exhibit a shortage of at least 139,000 physicians by 2033. It is a
saddening projection considering that the current healthcare sector is already overstretched and
lacks adequate number of healthcare workers.
Senator Bernie Sanders, the chair of the subcommittee on retirement, chaired the
legislative committee. Although Senator Sanders touches on many aspects affecting the
healthcare sector in the US such as high cost of treatment, high cost of medication,
underinsurance, and non-insurance, he majorly focusses on the shortage of healthcare workers
(C-Span Organization, 2021). Senator Sanders highlights the poor treatment and handling of
healthcare workers, which could be leading to low numbers of enrolment rates and class numbers
in healthcare training institutions. The Senator highlights low payment to physicians and nurses,
discriminatory payment system for the different healthcare worker categories, and lack of
support and funding in training and teaching healthcare workers. Senator Susan Collins adds that
the issue had been largely brought about by the low intake of students in search of medical
training, lack of diversity in recruitment of healthcare students, low number of enrolment
institutions, and low number of practicing sites (C-Span Organization, 2021). On her part,
Shelley Spires, the CEO of Albany primary healthcare indicates the need to fund and support
LEGISLATIVE VISIT
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students aspiring to be medical practitioners from vulnerable and marginalized communities.
There are evidently few clinicians from the marginalized and minority groups, which causes a
healthcare gap.
James Herbert, the President of New England also offered his testimony on the issue and
indicated five core strategies that could be used to overcome shortages of healthcare
professionals. He outlines the need for collaboration between all the stakeholders and leaders in
affiliated with the issue including universities, government, the society, and many others (CSpan Organization, 2021). One root cause of the issue according to Herbert is limited availability
of training institutions. There is need to expand existing training institutions so that they can
accommodate more learners. There is also a challenge in attracting and retaining qualified
faculty members. Teaching institutions have found themselves challenged with low number of
faculty members, which has directly affected learning and ability to enroll many students.
Herbert also indicated the need to increase diversity in healthcare student enrolment to promote
use of healthcare services among minority groups. The use of technology and telemedicine is
another important solution brought up by Herbert (C-Span Organization, 2021). Adoption of
technology would help to increase healthcare access as well as improve quality. According to
Herbert, change needs to happen in the current educational model to one that guarantee quick
passage of skills to learners.
I think the committee proceeding was very informative and helped me to understand the
complexity of the issue of shortage of healthcare workers and the possible solutions to the issue.
I think the committee was right that shortage of healthcare workers is a dangerous issue in
healthcare considering the increasing number of patients in need of critical care, hospice care,
and homecare services. It also came out clearly that the issue of shortages in healthcare workers
LEGISLATIVE VISIT
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is majorly a systemic problem, where training institutions, healthcare institutions, and agencies
involved in the matter do not address nurse issues such as mental health, good pay, inclusivity,
diversity, welfare, and funding of learners. This has caused a gap in training of healthcare
workers, causing the current and anticipated future clinician shortages. However, there is a lot of
hope for the healthcare industry if the highlighted solutions could be adopted and put into
practice. Increasing the number of health training institutions, funding leaners from vulnerable
and marginalized communities, increasing subsidies to healthcare students, and putting in place
mechanisms for retention of clinicians in the working force would help to increase the number of
those enrolling in training thus improve the patient-clinician ratio.
The best follow-up and relationship building approach to undertake in pushing for
implementation of the proposed solutions is to get the emails of Senator Sanders and Senator
Collins and use them as a channel for communication and engagement. Maintaining contact with
these legislators will give them the push to propose and rally their senate members towards
implementing proposed solutions in the healthcare industry. After developing good rapport, I
will also engage in visits to the Senators’ offices to convince them on the urgency and criticality
of the use of clinician shortages.
LEGISLATIVE VISIT
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References
C-Span Organization. (2021, May 20). Health Care Workforce. From C-Span Organization:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?511911-1/health-care-workforce
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