Strategies for Nursing Advocacy

Reflection On Nurse Engagement in Policy Advocacy

The socially and economically disadvantaged populations are the most affected by public policy and can benefit the most from policies that improve social conditions impacting health. With the right public health policies, we can interrupt the cycle of poverty and poor health by addressing the underlying conditions and increasing the material resources available to individuals (Williams et al., 2018). Sadly, while nurses account for the largest segment of healthcare workers in the United States, nurses’ participation in all levels of health policy advocacy is significantly low. Therefore, we must encourage and push for the participation of nurses in all levels of health policy to increase advocacy and improve the lives of the disadvantaged. If we had more nurses taking part in policy advocacy, we would have better outcomes since there would be more people pushing for a specific policy in different states across the country. As we know, the nursing profession’s foundation is rooted in the fundamental concern for the emotional, social, and physical needs of the disadvantaged in society.

Policy advocacy can be done by any person, provided they understand the nature of what they are advocating for. By interacting with patients and family members, nurses can easily identify areas that need improvement. With the right policies in place, we can interrupt the cycle of poverty and poor health, improving the patients’ lives (Lewinski & Simmons, 2018). Employing evidence-based and effective policies will ensure there are healthier communities, and nurses can address the lack of social and material resources. Many nurses believe their role is to care for patients and should not be involved in advocacy or politics (Myers, 2020). However, once nurses understand they can push for better services and healthcare access for their patients, they can offer better care to their patients. Nurses must look for ways they can assist their patients holistically. Holistic healthcare would only be possible by addressing the underlying causes of poor health, like a lack of proper diet, access to health services, and access to medications.

Moving forward as a DNP, the key takeaway would be the need to encourage more nurses to take up policy advocacy. If we are to improve the health of the disadvantaged in society, we should have the right policies in place to address their needs. With knowledge of how to influence healthcare outcomes, I can push for health policy implementation in an organization or state and encourage other nurses to increase nursing advocacy. A nurse should look for areas that could be improved upon through legislation. Identifying these areas allows the nurse to research and uncover what is missing and why the community does not have the necessary resources. Nurses can also encourage patients to become advocates where necessary. Social policies have the biggest impact on the health outcomes of the population. Therefore, nurses should identify social policies like child poverty, early childhood care, and youth development to assist communities in improving their health.

Improving public health through legislation has resonated well with me. The goal of nursing should be to improve the population’s health and not wait for the patients to come to the health facility for us to offer them health services (Lewinski & Simmons, 2018). There are other ways that nurses can ensure the population stays healthy. Policy advocacy is one of the ways to improve population health. When there are policies in place that focus on population health, like food scarcity and barriers to access to healthcare. Since we interact the most with patients, nurses can identify the challenges patients face and look for ways to improve the lives of patients through advocacy. Food scarcity pushes patients to consume unhealthy foods, increasing their risks of developing life-threatening conditions. Barriers to healthcare access prevent patients from receiving adequate healthcare.