Peer Feedback on Muddiest Point

PEER FEEDBACK

Response to Jacqueline R.

My colleague’s first question is on effective advocacy options for supporting equitable healthcare among marginalized populations. According to Farrer et al. (2015), social mobilization focused on empowerment is an effective advocacy option when dealing with underserved populations. This could involve educating locals through newspaper articles, local town hall sessions, rallies, and press conferences on issues impacting them. Further, nurses could take part in letter-writing campaigns to educate elected leaders on issues affecting the population and encourage them to implement health equity policies by, for instance, co-sponsoring a relevant bill (Farrer et al., 2015). Moreover, they could partner with local business leaders to support and campaign for candidates inclined towards health equity and engaging them as champions to advance equity policies in the legislature (Farrer et al., 2015). They could also use social media platforms to educate lawmakers and the public about the advocacy issue, using relevant hashtags and by even tagging them to create a snowballing effect.

In case the advocacy dies as my colleague asks in their second question, the next step would be to identify other active legislations that contribute to the overall advocacy area and push for the same. To strengthen their campaign this time, the nurse could engage with the state’s nursing association and existing coalitions to carry out research and support publications that educate the public and policymakers. Such collaborative networks could help exert more pressure on policymakers to act (Cullerton et al., 2018).

Response to No Ladipo

My colleague’s first question is on the important points to include in their legislative agenda. The advocacy problem is poor health outcomes among African-Americans. The most important points to include could be divided into three areas: the problem, the solution, and the policy environment (Speak Up, 2015). The agenda needs to identify the problem, the benefits of addressing it, and their proposed solutions. My colleague already identifies the problem as health disparities that lead to poor health outcomes among African-Americans. However, they also need to explain in their agenda why the problem needs fixing, factual data that supports the problem, anecdotes and personal stories that bolster the case, and the possible costs of inaction to the society (Speak Up, 2015). Besides detailing the problem, the agenda also needs to include crucial points about the proposed solutions (an action or bill), research or statistics supporting the solution, and how the proposed solution will address the problem (Speak Up, 2015). On the policy environment, the agenda needs to include points on who has the power to implement the proposed solutions (voters, elected leaders, executive branch, legislative committees and sub-committees), what exactly they are supposed to do (sponsor a bill, vote for or against, amend, speak up publicly., provide funding) and a time frame for such action (Speak Up, 2015).

The second question focuses on the approach to apply to capture all the important points. In my view, the agenda needs to apply a combination of social mobilization, lobbying, and advocacy collaboration strategies to be effective. African-Americas have been victims of inequalities since time immemorial and hence, there is a need to sensitize them about their rights and the power to influence policy using their voice (Jansson, 2011). However, this effort needs to be complemented with lobbying and strong advocacy coalitions to exert pressure on the legislature and executives to address the political, systemic and historical issues that feed the inequalities among African-Americans.