Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is the definition of advocacy?
Nurses have a moral obligation to actively engage in shaping policy. Is this statement true?
True
What is the aim of policy analysis?
to assess a problem and determine possible solutions
What do interest groups advocate for?
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What are some strategies needed to increase the political skills of nurses?
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What does deep knowledge involve?
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Political antennae involves focusing only on nursing issues.
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Political skill involves understanding others and using knowledge to influence actions, encompassing social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, and apparent _____.
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What are policy frameworks?
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What are the social determinants of health (SDH)?
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What are upstream factors in SDH?
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Digital literacies and Internet connectivity have been called the 'super social determinants of health' because they address all other SDH.
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The SDH have no impact on health disparities.
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What is the concept behind addressing health disparities?
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Define health equity.
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Define policy in the context of dealing with a problem or matter of concern.
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Match the types of public policies with their descriptions:
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Study Notes
Frameworks for Action in Policy and Politics
- Policy frameworks are general structures that provide institutions a guiding architecture for policy action across one or multiple policy areas.
Social Determinants of Health (SDH)
- SDH are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes, including conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping daily life.
- These factors include economic policies, development agendas, social norms, social policies, and political systems.
- Addressing SDH is important for improving health and reducing health disparities.
Upstream and Downstream Factors
- Upstream factors are the root causes of health problems, such as social structures, policies, and cultural norms.
- Downstream factors are tied to individual behaviors and healthcare access.
- Targeting upstream factors is crucial to effectively address health disparities.
The Quintuple Aim
- With 70% of healthcare outcomes linked to SDH, healthcare transformation efforts are bound to be futile without a targeted approach to address health equity.
- The quintuple aim includes improving population health, enhancing the patient experience, reducing healthcare costs, improving healthcare workforce, and advancing health equity.
Policy and the Policy Process
- Policy is a relatively stable, purposive course of action or inaction followed by an actor or set of actors in dealing with a problem or matter of concern.
- Public policy is policy crafted by governments to influence health or healthcare.
- Types of public policies include allocative policies, which provide benefits to a distinct group, and regulatory policies, which influence individual or group behavior.
Forces that Shape Health and Social Policy
- Values form the foundation of proposed and implemented policies, influencing political and policymaking actions.
- Politics is the use of relationships and power to gain ascendancy among competing stakeholders to influence policy and the allocation of scarce resources.
- Science and research provide evidence to support policy recommendations and inform policy decisions.
The Framework for Action
- Nursing is bound by a commitment to the public, with a moral obligation to actively engage in shaping policy, given their frontline experience with its implementation and impact on patient care.
- Nurses need to work in multiple spheres of influence, including government, workplaces, interest groups, and communities, to shape health and social policy.
Spheres of Influence
- Government: significantly shapes nursing and its practice, and nurses can impact government policymaking through various means.
- Workforce and workplace: policies guide many activities in healthcare workplaces, and nurses can affect policy through internal organizational policies.
- Interest groups: nurses can participate in interest groups to advocate for policies that benefit the nursing profession and patients.
- Communities: nurses can engage with communities to promote optimal health and influence policy decisions.### External Policies and Associations
- External policies, such as state laws regulating nursing licensure, influence the healthcare workplace.
- Professional nursing associations play a crucial role in shaping practice by advocating for policies that support their members and address patient needs.
- Associations serve as valuable platforms for novice nurses to gain insight into policy development and political engagement.
Community and Policy Influence
- Communities can be geographic, online, or faith-based networks, and nurses can influence them by identifying problems, strategizing, and advocating for change.
- Nurses can expand their influence by collaborating with other interest groups, which have become significant players in policy debates.
Political Skill and Competence
- Political skill involves understanding others and using knowledge to influence actions, comprising social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, and apparent sincerity.
- Political competence refers to the ability to navigate the political landscape, influence decision-making, and shape policies, requiring elements such as deep knowledge, political antennae, and power.
- Political skill and competence are essential for nurses to influence healthcare policy and promote optimal health.
Strategies for Developing Political Skills
- Strategies for developing political skills include power-sharing, active listening, problem-solving, empathy, prioritizing others, and incorporating political education into nursing curricula.
- Empowerment, engagement in professional organizations, experience, mentoring, and peer support can also enhance political skills.
Parochialism and Obstacles to Political Education
- Parochialism is a narrow approach that focuses on self-interest, limiting options and appearing self-serving.
- Integrating real-life experiences into policy discussions can be highly impactful, linking human stories with scientific evidence.
- Obstacles to political education include security concerns, emphasizing the need for trust between youth and political engagement.
Conclusion
- Social determinants of health (SDH) affect health outcomes, and measuring SDH provides evidence for political action.
- Forces shaping health and social policy include value, politics, science, advocacy, interest groups, policy analysis, media, and leadership.
- Nurses play a crucial role in shaping health and social policy across four interconnected spheres: government, workplaces, interest groups, and communities.
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Description
Explore the frameworks and concepts that shape policy and politics in healthcare, including the social determinants of health and the policy process.
