Discussion: Agenda Comparison Grid
Discussion: Agenda Comparison Grid
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It may seem to you that healthcare has been a national topic of debate among political leaders for as long as you can remember.
Healthcare has been a policy item and a topic of debate not only in recent times but as far back as the administration of the second U.S. president, John Adams. In 1798, Adams signed legislation requiring that 20 cents per month of a sailor’s paycheck be set aside for covering their medical bills. This represented the first major piece of U.S. healthcare legislation, and the topic of healthcare has been woven into presidential agendas and political debate ever since.
As a healthcare professional, you may be called upon to provide expertise, guidance and/or opinions on healthcare matters as they are debated for inclusion into new policy. You may also be involved in planning new organizational policy and responses to changes in legislation. For all of these reasons you should be prepared to speak to national healthcare issues making the news.
In this Assignment, you will examine recent presidential healthcare agendas. You will also create a fact sheet to communicate the significance of a healthcare issue and the impact of recent or proposed policy on that issue.
To Prepare:
Examine the agenda priorities of the current/sitting U.S. president and the two previous presidential administrations.
Choose a healthcare issue addressed by each of the last three U.S. presidential administrations.
Consider the focus of their respective agendas, including the allocation of financial resources to address the healthcare issue you selected.
Consider how you would convey the importance of a healthcare issue to a legislator/policymaker or a member of their staff for inclusion on an agenda.
The Task: (1- to 2-page Comparison Grid, 1-Page Analysis, and 1-page Fact Sheet)
Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid
Complete the Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid based on the current/sitting U.S. president and the two previous presidential administrations’ agendas related to the public health concern you selected using the Agenda Comparison Grid Template found in the Learning Resources. Make sure to address the following:
Identify and provide a brief description of the population health concern you chose, as well as the factors that contribute to it.
Describe the administrative agenda focus on the issue you selected.
Determine the financial and other resources dedicated to this issue by the current and two previous presidents.
Explain how each presidential administration approached the issue.
(A draft of Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid should be posted to the Module 1 Discussion Board by Day 3 of Week 1.)
Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis
Complete the Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis portion of the template using the information you recorded in Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid on the template by addressing the following:
Which administrative agency is most likely to assist you in addressing the healthcare issue you selected?
How do you believe your chosen healthcare issue will be addressed by the current and two previous presidents? How does it stay there?
Who would you choose to be the entrepreneur/champion/sponsor of the healthcare issue you chose for the current and two previous presidents?
Part 3: Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief
Revise Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid and Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis based on feedback from your colleagues during the Discussion.
Then, using the information recorded on the template in Parts 1 and 2, create a 1-page Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief that you could use to communicate with a policymaker/legislator or a member of their staff about this healthcare issue. Create your Fact Sheet or Talking Point Brief in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. Make sure to address the following:
Explain why this healthcare issue is important and should be included on the legislative agenda.
Justify the role of the nurse in setting the agenda for healthcare issues.
Addiction and Substance Abuse in Healthcare
Substance abuse and addiction are a problem because they cause harm to both the environment and the users. Notably, substance use and abuse cause approximately $420 billion in financial harm each year, while healthcare spends approximately $120 billion on treatment (McLellan, 2017).
Furthermore, the impact of substance use and addiction includes the deterioration of the social system, education, and health, as well as the death of young people due to accidents, medication overdoses, and drug violence.
Substance abuse and addiction are on the rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 47600 people died in 2017 as a result of opioid overdose, while others were revived by the antagonist naloxone (Cicero, Ellis & Kasper, 2020).
As a result, legislation must consider the agenda in order to help mitigate steps to deter abuse and diversion. The nurse’s role in substance use and addiction agenda-setting is to assist in suggesting the appropriate treatment system that would help mitigate opioid use.
Furthermore, nurses play a role in informing people about the effects of substance use and providing specifics about the areas that need to be addressed when developing intervention measures (Laureate Education (Producer), 2018). Furthermore, by understanding political engagements, nurses assist the legislature in understanding the most effective way to promote change in regulation and state rule (0’Rourke et al., 2017). Finally, the nurse is involved in testing the potential effects of brief interventions for patients who are addicted to substances. As a result, nurses play an important role in ensuring that the legislation provides relevant and essential services that are easily accessible to youth.
References
T. J. Cicero, M. S. Ellis, and Z. A. Kasper (2020). Polysubstance use: a broader understanding of opioid-related substance use. The American Journal of Public Health, vol. 110(2), pp. 244-250.
Producer: Laureate Education (2018). Agenda Setting [Video file]. A. T. McLellan, Author, Baltimore, MD (2017). Why are substance abuse and substance use disorders important in healthcare? American Clinical and Climatological Association Transactions, 128, 112.
N. C. O’Rourke, S. L. Crawford, N. S. Morris, and J. Pulcini (2017). Nurse practitioners’ political clout and participation Policy, Politics, and Nursing Practice, 18(3), pp. 135-135.
