Universty of Maryland Nursing Essay
Description
Social Justice Project, Part 1: Summary of Problem and Legislation (20 percent of final grade)
Assignment Information
Before beginning political advocacy, one must identify a problem that needs to be addressed through health care policy. Sometimes, political advocacy is needed when established health care policies are not adequate for solving a problem, or when the legislation creates new problems. This assignment is the first in a three-part project.
The purpose of this three-part project is to guide you through the process of selecting a problem, identifying evidence-based solutions, and designing a political advocacy plan to address the problem with those solutions.
In this first assignment, you will select a consumer challenge related to equity, access, affordability, and/or social justice in health care, and you will analyze how existing policies address this challenge. Completion of this assignment will demonstrate your achievement of the following course outcome:
- 6. analyze the impact of sociocultural, economic, and environmental influences on health care policies to understand consumer challenges related to equity, access, affordability, and social justice in health care
Assignment Guidelines
- Identify a nursing or health care issue that relates to current health policy or political issues pertaining to equity, access, affordability, and/or social justice in health care.
- In a 3–4-page paper (not including cover page or reference list), complete the following:
- Identify the problem, noting its relationship to equity, access, affordability, and/or social justice in health care.
- Describe the population most affected by this problem, noting whether this is a vulnerable population.
- Describe health care and health disparities that may be related to this problem and population.
- Summarize legislation and/or political activities that relate to the identified problem.
- Analyze the effect that this legislation has had on the consumer challenge.
- Uses APA style for your citations and references.
This activity aligns with:
Course Outcome 3. Discuss how regulatory agencies and professional organizations influence nursing practice and healthcare delivery to support optimal quality patient care.
Course Outcome 4. Analyze the impact of sociocultural, economic, and environmental influences on health care policies to understand consumer challenges related to equity, access, affordability, and social justice in healthcare.
Course Outcome 5. Evaluate the political advocacy process to identify opportunities for nursing professional involvement.
Course Outcome 6. Delineate strategies that nurses can use to engage in advocacy for healthcare policy to support equity, access, affordability, and social justice for consumers and in support of the nursing profession.
AACN BSN Essential I.6: Engage in ethical reasoning and actions to provide leadership in promoting advocacy, collaboration, and social justice as a socially responsible citizen.
AACN BSN Essential V.4: Examine legislative and regulatory processes relevant to the provision of health care.
AACN BSN Essential V.6: Explore the impact of sociocultural, economic, legal, and political factors influencing healthcare delivery and practice.
AACN BSN Essential V.7: Examine the roles and responsibilities of the regulatory agencies and their effect on patient care quality, workplace safety, and the scope of nursing and other health professionals’ practice.
AACN BSN Essential VII.12: Advocate for social justice, including a commitment to the health of vulnerable populations and the elimination of health disparities.
AACN BSN Essential VIII.1: Demonstrate the professional standards of moral, ethical, and legal conduct.
Week 2 Learning Resources
To access the readings, right-click the hyperlinks and open in a new tab:
Below are the required learning resources for this week.
Recommendations to help address America’s rising healthcare costs
This is a letter from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc. (2019) that provides a list of recommendations to help address rising healthcare costs in America.
Effects of the ACA on Health Care Cost Containment
To learn more about health care cost-containment measures enacted in the United States, read this article from Weiner, Marks, and Pauly (2017):
Medicare
To learn more about Medicare, read this entry from the Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society on Medicare.
Adding an Out-of-Pocket Spending Maximum to Medicare: Implementation Issues and Challenges
Read this article from the Schoen, Davis, and Buttorff (2018) to learn about out-of-pocket spending maximum changes to Medicare.
- https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2018/oct/medicare-benefit-redesign-affordability
Medicaid by Topic
Review this look at Medicaid by topic to learn more about the program.
State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
To learn about CHIP by state, review the Benefits.gov website:
- https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/607
- Or InsureKidsNow.gov at: https://www.insurekidsnow.gov/coverage/index.html
Veterans Health Administration Website
Look at this VA webpage to learn about the VA and its health care programs.
VA Accountability Watch
Look at this page from the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to read about some VA health care issues and controversies.
Long-Term Care
This PBS NewsHour article discusses the long-term health care crisis.
Long-Term Care: Does Health Insurance Cover It?
This video from ACLgov examines the limitations of Medicare, Medicaid, and VA benefits in assisting with long-term care.
Hospital Quality, Efficiency, and Input Slack Differentials
Read this article from Health Services Research to consider how hospital- and nursing-sensitive indicators affect reimbursement.
In this study, the authors explore the interaction of cost, efficiency, and quality. They posit that reallocation of resources could increase the quality of patient care without necessarily driving up costs.
Moving Health Care Quality Forward with Nursing-Sensitive Value-Based Purchasing
Read this article from the Journal of Nursing Scholarship to consider how hospital- and nursing-sensitive indicators affect reimbursement.
In this study, the authors explore the nursing-sensitive value-based purchasing (NSVBP) system, a means of improving the staffing and practice environment for nurses through the provision of financial rewards and the ensuring of transparency in patient outcomes.
Economics of the US Healthcare System
Read pages 1 – 28 of the report by Nunn, Parsons, and Shambaugh (2020) entitled: A Dozen Facts About the Economics of the US Health-Care System:
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