NURS 6026 Population Health Policy Advocacy Discussion
Assessment 3 Instructions: Letter to the Editor: Population Health Policy Advocacy
For this assessment, you will write a letter to the editor of a scholarly journal in response to an article in that selected journal. Your goal is to be informative about the policy that you developed for your previous Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal assessment, while also being persuasive about the need for and benefit of similar policies in other healthcare settings. The bullet points below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Be sure that your assessment submission addresses all of them. You may also want to read the Letter to the Editor: Population Health Policy Advocacy Scoring Guide and Guiding Questions: Letter to the Editor: Population Health Policy Advocacy [PDF] to better understand how each grading criterion will be assessed.
In NURS 6026, we will explore various aspects of population health policy advocacy.
· Evaluate the current state of the quality of care and outcomes for a specific issue in a target population negatively impacted by health inequity.
· Look back to the data or scenario you used in your previous assessment to address this criterion.
· Analyze how the current state of the quality of care and outcomes for a specific issue in a target population necessitates health policy development and advocacy.
· Justify why the developed policy will be vital in improving the quality of care and outcomes for a specific issue in a target population.
· Advocate for policy development in other care settings with regard to a specific issue in a target population.
· Analyze the ways in which an interdisciplinary team strategizes to develop a policy that supports efficient and effective achievement of desired outcomes for the target population.
· Communicate in a professional and persuasive manner, writing content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
· Integrate relevant sources to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style (or the journal’s preferred style).
Be sure the article you choose to respond to is relatively current, meaning published within the last five years.
For NURS 6026, ensure your selected article aligns with the themes of population health.
NURS 6026 Example assessment: You may use the Assessment 3 Example [PDF] to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like.
This example from NURS 6026 highlights key elements of effective policy advocacy.
NURS 6026 Submission Requirements
Understanding the NURS 6026 submission requirements is crucial for success.
The submission requirements for your editorial will depend on the journal you choose. To find out the requirements, go to the journal’s Web site. There should be a section regarding submissions that will address how to format letters to the editor, and whether there is a word count limit (there usually is a limit).
· If the journal does not have submission guidelines for the number of resources required, use 3–5 sources.
· To be sure that your faculty knows the submission and formatting requirements for your letter, include the journal’s guidelines on a separate page at the end of the document you submit for this assessment.
· Be sure that the article your respond to has been published within the last five years.
In NURS 6026, the importance of current literature cannot be overstated.
Reference
American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/CodeofEthicsforNurses/Code-of-Ethics-For-Nurses.html
Guiding Questions Letter to the Editor: NURS 6026 Population Health Policy Advocacy
This document is designed to give you questions to consider and additional guidance to help you successfully complete the Letter to the Editor: Population Health Policy Advocacy assessment. You may find it useful to use this document as a pre-writing exercise or as a final check to ensure that you have sufficiently addressed all the grading criteria for this assessment. This document is a resource to help you complete the assessment. Do not turn in this document as your assessment submission.
Evaluate the current state of the quality of care and outcomes for a specific issue in a target population negatively impacted by health inequity.
This analysis is essential throughout NURS 6026 to grasp population health concepts.
· Based on the data that you used to identify your chosen issue in Assessment 1, what is the current state of the quality of care and outcomes?
· To what degree does the current state of the quality of care and outcomes need to be improved?
· How does the current performance compare to any relevant benchmarks?
· How does the current performance adversely impact the health of the target population
negatively impacted by health inequity?
Analyze how the current state of the quality of care and outcomes for a specific issue in a target population necessitates health policy development and advocacy.
NURS 6026 requires a deep dive into the impact of policy on health outcomes.
• How does the current state of the quality of care and outcomes related to your chosen issue and target population negatively impacted by health inequity illustrate the need for improvements?
o Whydoyouconsiderpolicydevelopmentandadvocacynecessary?
o Howwilldevelopingahealthpolicyhelptoimprovethequalityofcareandoutcomes related to your chosen issue and target population negatively impacted by health inequity?
o Whyisadvocatingforhealthpolicydevelopmentnecessarytodriveimprovements? Justify why a developed policy will be vital in improving the quality of care and outcomes
for a specific issue in a target population.
• Why will your proposed policy (from Assessment 2) be vital in improving the quality of care and outcomes related to your chosen issue and target population?
Expanding on your policy in NURS 6026 will enhance interdisciplinary collaboration.
o Howwillyourproposedpolicyhelpdriveimprovements?
What evidence or best-practices supports this? How does the evidence provide support?
Advocate for policy development in other care settings with regard to a specific issue in a target population negatively impacted by health inequity.
• Why is it important that policy development focused on your chosen issue and target population take place in care environments and settings beyond that for which you proposed the policy?
In NURS 6026, advocating for broader policy development is essential for systemic change.
o Howwillwiderdevelopmentofpolicieshelptodriveimprovementsrelatedtoyour chosen issue and target population?
o Ideally,whatistheendresultofwiderpolicydevelopmentandimplementation?
Analyze the ways in which an interdisciplinary team strategizes to develop a policy that supports efficient and effective achievement of desired outcomes for the target population.
• What are the relevant interdisciplinary aspects of your policy? o Howwilltheseinterdisciplinaryaspectssupportefficientachievementofyourdesired
outcomes for your target population?
o Howwilltheseinterdisciplinaryaspectssupporteffectiveachievementofyour desired outcomes for your target population?
Communicate in a professional and persuasive manner, writing content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Your communication skills will be honed in NURS 6026 to ensure persuasive writing.
· Is your writing clear and professional?
· Is your writing free from errors?
· Is your writing persuasive?
· Does your submission conform to the format and length requirements of your chosen journal?
Integrate relevant sources to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references.
In NURS 6026, you will learn to integrate sources effectively in your writing.
· Did you use 3–5 sources (or the number required by your chosen journal) in your assessment?
o Arethesourcesyouusednomorethanfiveyearsold?
· Are your sources cited in APA format (or the journal’s preferred style) throughout your
letter?
· Have you included an attached reference list?
· Did you follow the formatting guidelines of your chosen journal?
Note: Each assessment in this course builds on the work you completed in the previous assessment. Therefore, you must complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.
NURS 6026 emphasizes the continuous nature of learning in policy advocacy.
Advocating for new policies is an important aspect of the master’s-prepared nurse. For new policies to be compelling, they need to be supported by evidence. Supporting data can be used to illustrate why new policies and interventions are needed to help address a specific health issue. Compelling data can help sway the stakeholders and gain support for your policy.
Data in NURS 6026 will be pivotal in forming effective health policies.
Another aspect of advocacy is disseminating new policies and interventions outside of the immediate care environment. This can be done by reaching out to professional organizations as well as academic and professional journals. A letter to the editor is one strategy for disseminating information to a wider audience and to potentially enlist support throughout the wider professional community.
Dissemination strategies will be a key focus in NURS 6026 for wider impact.
Professional Context
Nurses have the opportunity to use their skills and develop programs to keep individuals and communities healthy. Health is complex, however, and the nurse needs to possess strong advocacy skills to successfully support a cause or interest. The American Nurses Association’s (2015) code of ethics describes the responsibility of a nurse to include working through and with appropriate stakeholders to advocate for the health of people in and out of the work environment. To be an effective advocate, there are several important abilities a nurse must possess, including problem-solving, communication, and influencing others. One way a nurse can advocate to a broader population is through effective letter writing, both to legislators and through the media, such as with editorials and research articles.
NURS 6026 prepares you to use advocacy skills in various healthcare settings.
Scenario
Throughout this course, you have focused on a specific health issue occurring within a specific population negatively impacted by health inequity. You researched position papers regarding this health concern, and you developed a health policy proposal to positively impact the health of the affected individuals. It is now time to reach a greater audience regarding your policy proposal.
Your journey in NURS 6026 will culminate in impactful advocacy efforts.
You are going to write a letter to the editor of a peer-reviewed nursing journal. Use the Nursing Master’s Program (MSN) Library Guide to select a journal, and go to the journal’s website to find out the requirements for submitting an editorial, such as format requirements, topics, and word counts. Make sure you select a nursing journal that covers the topic about which you are going to write. If you want to use another journal that is not on this list, please make sure the journal does address healthcare, because this is the purpose of the assessment.
Writing for NURS 6026 will enhance your ability to influence public health discussions.
