Nursing and Healthcare Policy
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Nursing and Healthcare Policy
History
The history of nursing, politics, and healthcare policies in the United States is mainly connected to the 19th-century works of Lillian Wald. Health in the 19th century got marked by offering the best nursing care in home settings. That led to the establishment of the visiting nurse services by Lilian Wald at the Henry Street Settlement to assist the poor and vulnerable populations. Wald argued that nurses have amicable resources to bring transformation to the people and the healthcare setting. Wald's efforts saw the formation of a strategic partnership with various healthcare stakeholders. It led to the formation of the national organization of public health nursing in 1912 (O’Grady et al., 2016). The organization aimed at controlling the healthcare sector, mainly the public health nurses, standards, and practice. Since then, the united states healthcare system has evolved from the simple use of natural remedies and itinerant healthcare professionals with less exposure to healthcare systems marked with scientific, technological, advanced, and governmental structures. Over the years, the system has adopted the notion of germs as the cause of ailments, doctors' and nurses' professionalization, technological advancement in treatment approaches, training programs, and enactment of health insurance. The system has also experienced an evolution in government controls in the sector, healthcare programs and rules, and medical insurance. For instance, during the Obama administration, the health insurance marketplace offered discounts to legal American citizens who could not get quality healthcare through their employer's insurance companies (Ghaddar, Byun & Krishnaswami, 2018). The 21st century has seen medical professions that are patient-centered and adheres to the provisions, rules, and regulations that apply in this sector. Today, many healthcare policies touch on health insurance to increase coverage, offer universal access to healthcare, and reduce health costs to the American people.
Structure
Policies offer a course of action that guides the healthcare system. The government or non-governmental establishments develop policies to deal with issues that affect the sector and its actors. Governmental policies touch on allocative and regulatory policies, which help standardize and control certain groups and offer one group power or resources. The allocative policy aims to provide equitability in the healthcare system by offering benefits to some groups; Regulatory policies control and guide healthcare providers' decisions and behaviors. The robust influences that shape the policies are politics and values. Politics entail the power to attain support among various interested parties to influence the enactment and impact of the policy, mainly in resource distribution. The policy systems can be influenced by stakeholders, e.g., nurses who can advocate for change in their workplace, government agencies, and policymakers (Thornton & Persaud, 2018). The healthcare system in the United States can also be described as a hybrid structure, with a single-payer nationwide health coverage system or a multi-payer collective coverage fund. For instance, private funds account for much healthcare spending, with contributors being families and private entities. The government does contribute to the spending, although most of the healthcare is privately but publicly funded.
Process
The initial step is problem identification. It involves public awareness, which initiates the process of healthcare policy and politics. For example, a rise in incidences of opioid overuse can initiate a debate on the need for a policy to deal with the problem. Individuals can have an unacceptable situation and form alliances that move policy agenda and lead actions (O’Grady et al., 2016). The process necessitates all stakeholders to nurture and build the resources needed for the healthcare policy enactment. The process must entail formulation, implementation, and modification. Formulation involves evidence-based research that informs lawmakers; implementation touches on the acceptance of the policy, and modification involves revisiting the policy and improving or removing some sections.
References
Ghaddar, S., Byun, J., & Krishnaswami, J. (2018). Health insurance literacy and awareness of the Affordable Care Act in a vulnerable Hispanic population. Patient education and counseling, 101(12), 2233–2240.
O’Grady, E. T., Mason, D. J., Outlaw, F. H., & Gardner, D. B. (2016). Frameworks for action in policy and politics. Policy and Politics in Nursing and Health Care. 7th edet al. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier, 1-21.
Thornton, M., & Persaud, S. (2018). Preparing today’s nurses: Social determinants of health and nursing education. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(3).