Policy Brief on Chronic Back Pain and Injury Prevention Program for Nurses
A policy brief is used to convince the target audience of the urgency of the current problem or policy concern and present the need to adopt the preferred alternative or course of action outlined. The problem or issue should be related to the nursing profession. It is commonly produced in response to a request directly from a decision-maker (legislator) or within an organization that intends to advocate for the position detailed in the brief. Efficient policy briefs include several common features. Those features include:
• The brief is focused. All aspects discussed are focused on achieving the intended audience to take the requested action.
• The brief is professional and not academic. The usual audience is not interested in research or analysis conducted to produce the evidence. Rather they are interested in knowing the writer’s perspective on the problem and potential solutions, based on NEW and convincing evidence.
• The brief should be evidence-based. The policy brief serves as a communication tool produced by someone with a vested interest in the policy (stakeholder), therefore the target audience will only be convinced by arguments that are supported by evidence.
• The brief should also be concise. One page documents are the ones most likely to be read by busy lawmakers and their legislative teams.
The format of the brief should be written as a one-page single spaced document. It does not need to include a title page, running header, or abstract. However, all references in-text and the reference list MUST be in APA format.
The policy brief should include the following components:
• An interesting title to attract the attention of the reader.
• A clear and concise statement of the problem or issue.
• A short overview of the root causes of the problem or issue.
• One to two recommendations with a least two rationales with supporting evidence to validate the recommendations made. Evidence should come from scholarly journals, not textbooks or organization web sites. Three scholarly journal articles are required to be used (APA 7th edition). References should be not more than 5 years old.
• Finally, the conclusion with a summary of the action the brief is requesting.
Components of the Policy Brief:
• Title and Statement of the Problem – The policy brief has an interesting title and the statement of the problem is clear and concise.
• Root Causes – The root causes of the issue are addressed.
• Recommendations – 1-2 recommendations for action are provided with solid supporting evidence.
• Conclusion – Brief summary of the action the policy brief is asking for.
Chronic Back Pain and Injury Prevention Program for Nurses
Statement of problem:
The job of healthcare professionals like nurses can be physically strenuous, from shifting patients in beds to assisting them in wheelchairs. When they perform their jobs under high pressure and high strain, it often comes back to haunt them through fatigue. One of the chief complaints they usually have is back pain and burnout. Back pain is a leading result of workplace environments where employees are often faced with too much workload that needs a fast turnaround and little resting time. Chou (2022) notes that three-quarters of the global population experiences chronic back pains at least once in their lifetimes. Back pain resulting from such engagements is among the rising disease instances in the medical field and society at large. There is a need to come up with solutions to this challenge.
Root causes:
The nature of the job and duties imply that workers face potential hazards affecting back muscles, ligaments, or tendons. The nature of the job might mean that one carries out the duties of two, perhaps due to understaffing. It might also mean one taking up strenuous duties as a result of such an absence of relevant personnel. According to Chou (2022), back pain is also related to an individual's posture while standing or sitting. Lifting and moving patients is a common task performed by nurses in the care setting, followed by moving supplies without help, bending down consistently, pushing or pulling wheelchairs, and standing for long hours. These activities, in the end, exert much pressure on the backbone.
The repetitive recurrence of such roles can result in a cumulative trauma disorder due to repeated motions, strain, and overuse (Andersen et al., 2019). With that, a nurse develops chronic back pain or aches that may never reduce even after resting, affecting their quality of life. When the situation becomes serious, these nurses will eventually fail to even deliver on their duties in their respective heal...