Factors Affecting Registered Nurses’ Ability to Influence National Government Health Policy

Factors Affecting Registered Nurses’ Ability to Influence National Government Health Policy
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February 26, 2023
Understanding the realities of the healthcare system and the socio-political environment surrounding it is vital for any nurse leader. It allows him to have a better appreciation of how the healthcare system works without only thinking about the internal environment of the system. Accordingly, to improve healthcare outcomes and reduce health inequities, health policy is essential. Health policies can all impact healthcare delivery, financing, workforce, and system performance. Health policies also affect how resources are allocated, how patients are cared for, and how priorities in healthcare are set. Hence, many stakeholders, including nurses, must be included in developing and implementing successful health policies. Most direct patient care is provided by nurses, who comprise the largest group of healthcare workers. Therefore, they are in a unique position to affect the creation and application of health policy. Nurses may ensure that policies reflect patient needs and advance equitable, high-quality healthcare by taking part in the policymaking process (Grady,. et al.,2017).
It describes a collection of choices, schemes, and methods organizations, institutions, and stakeholders use to carry out particular health objectives. Agenda establishing, policy formulation, adoption, implementation, and assessment are all steps in the process of creating a health policy. Nurses play a critical role in determining policy, given their experience on the front lines and commitment to patient-centered care (Bokhour et al., 2022). Participating in policy-making as a nurse has many advantages, including better patient outcomes, enhanced job satisfaction, and increased knowledge of healthcare systems. However, there are obstacles standing in the way of nurses participating in policymaking, such as knowledge gaps, power disparities, and time restraints (Baum & Friel, 2017).
The Role of Nurses in Healthcare Development
Nurses’ Involvement in Policymaking
Patients and the nursing profession can benefit from nurses' participation in policymaking. For instance, nurses' participation in policymaking can improve their knowledge of the healthcare system, the creation of health policies, and advocacy (Maleki et al., 2021). This knowledge can enable nurses to participate in political processes, fight for patients' rights, and develop health policies. Also, nurses' involvement in policymaking can aid in the creation of patient-centered, evidence-based policies (Gesell et al., 2021). Also, nurses can contribute significantly to the development of policies that address nurses' working conditions, compensation, and patient care (Ayalew et al., 2019). For instance, in Australia, the ANMF's involvement in health policymaking has produced legislation addressing these issues.
To explain the significance of these policy decisions in more detail. Consider a situation where there need to be more medical professionals in a rural area. The lack of access to primary care and the distance to the closest hospital has caused worries among the locals in Australia (Shukla et al., 2020). The community's lack of healthcare providers has been discovered, and the local health department has chosen to create a policy to address it. Community residents, healthcare workers, and nurses have all been invited to participate in the policymaking process. Local nurses are uniquely positioned to grasp the population's healthcare demands and difficulties (Schwerdtel et al., 2020). They can impart their knowledge and offer insightful accounts of how the lack of healthcare professionals affects patient outcomes.
Based on their practical expertise working in the community, nursing professionals offer evidence-based comments and recommendations during the policy formation phase. Additionally, they support legislation that places a high priority on patient security, high-quality treatment, and fair access to medical care. They collaborate with other interested parties to create plans that will solve the community's lack of healthcare professionals. Ultimately, the decision-makers picked the strategy that prioritized local healthcare providers recruiting and retention (Fleet et al., 2020). The strategy offered rewards like school loan forgiveness, sign-on bonuses, and higher salary for healthcare professionals willing to work in the neighborhood. As a result of the nursing professionals' participation in the policymaking process, the policy was patient-centered, evidence-based, and tailored to the particular healthcare requirements of the neighborhood (Flaherty & Bartels, 2019).
This example shows why nurses ought to be included in the formulation of policies. Nursing professionals' knowledge, distinct viewpoints, and experiences benefit the policymaking process. Their involvement can assist in ensuring that policies reflect the needs of patients, encourage high-quality care, and address healthcare disparities. Nursing practitioners may significantly improve healthcare systems and provide fair access to high-quality treatment for all by taking part in policymaking (Thompson & McNamara, 2021).
The COVID-19 epidemic has brought to light the vital role nurses play in formulating public policy. The development of evidence-based policies that support patient safety and high-quality care has depended heavily on nurses' participation in policymaking during the pandemic. Nurses have been at the forefront of the pandemic response, providing direct patient care, coordinating resources, and developing policies to address the patients' changing healthcare needs (Jacqueline et al., 2019). The administration of the healthcare workforce, vaccine distribution, and infection prevention and control policies have all benefited from the input of nurses (Anders, 2021).
The pandemic's participation of nurses in policymaking has also aided in the advancement of egalitarian and open access to healthcare for all patients. In order to ensure that underprivileged groups have access to essential healthcare services, nurses have been promoting legislation that addresses healthcare inequities. Also, nurses have been actively involved in lobbying campaigns to guarantee that frontline healthcare workers have access to the proper PPE, training, and support services. Policies that address the particular difficulties experienced by healthcare professionals during the pandemic were developed with the assistance of nurses' participation and expertise (Safari, 2020).
Nurses' participation in policymaking throughout the pandemic has aided a culture of cooperation and partnership between policymakers, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders. For example, nurses' involvement in policymaking during the COVID-19 pandemic has been crucial for promoting evidence-based, equitable, and high-quality healthcare for patients. Nurses have been working with policymakers to promote open communication, transparency, and shared decision-making processes, which have been critical to developing effective pandemic response strategies (Jacqueline et al., 2019). They have significantly reduced healthcare inequities, enhanced patient safety, and created efficient pandemic response plans. As a result, nurses must continue to participate actively in the development of healthcare policies to guarantee that they take both patients and healthcare providers' demands into account (Anders, 2021).
Barriers, Strategy, and Analysis
Lack of education and training, power disparities, and time limits are three significant obstacles to nurses participating in policymaking. Implementing initiatives, including giving nurses access to education and training, enabling nurses to speak up for patients' rights, and including nurses in policy-making from the beginning, can help to overcome these obstacles. For instance, the ANMF offers nurse education and training courses in health advocacy and policy. They also support the rights of nurses and involve them in the formulation of policies (Chiu et al.,2021 ).
Notwithstanding the value of nurses participating in policymaking, there are obstacles that prevent it. Lack of education and training, power disparities, and time restraints are some of these obstacles. Nursing knowledge, the creation of health policies, and advocacy may all be hampered by a lack of education and training. When policymakers have more clout and resources to shape policy, power disparities can also have an impact on nurses' ability to participate in policy creation (Kothari & Smith, 2022). Likewise, a nurse's availability to participate in policymaking processes may be constrained by time restrictions. To overcome these obstacles, it is possible to use tactics like giving nurses a chance to receive education and training, giving them the authority to speak up for patient's rights, and including nurses early on in the policymaking process. However, politicians need to respect nurses' contributions, and if structural impediments prevent nurses from participating, these techniques might not work (Haahr et al., 2020). In order to identify and remove structural obstacles to nurses participating in policymaking, a rigorous understanding of the processes involved in formulating policies is required.
Tackling Barriers
As said earlier, a lack of training may significantly hamper nursing policymaking. In order to actively engage in policymaking, nurses need to possess a specific set of knowledge, skills, and competencies. Understanding the po...