Empowering ARNs to Advocate for Health Equity and Access
School
Grand Canyon University**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
NUR 550
Subject
Nursing
Date
Dec 12, 2024
Pages
7
Uploaded by Dingll
Hello Ms Ronda,Thanks for sharing. I agree with your post which align with my previous discussionAdvanced registered nurses (ARNs) play a pivotal role in advocating for equitable population health services and policies by addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) that perpetuate disparities. Through a focus on enhancing healthcare access, health literacy, and cultural competence, ARNs work to bridge the gap for marginalized communities. Their involvement often includes providing care in community-based settings, such as mobile health clinics and telemedicine platforms, which helps to reach underserved populations and promote continuity of care and patient trustHowever, ARNs face challenges in population advocacy, including limited healthcare resources, political resistance to policy changes, and language barriers when serving diverse patient populations. To mitigate these issues, ARNs can collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and policymakers to advocate for policies aimed at health equity. This collaboration may involve lobbying for expanded Medicaid, increased funding for preventive services, or community-basedcare initiatives. Continuous education on cultural competence and bias also enables ARNs to deliver more inclusive care, making them more effective advocates in reducing health disparities.ARNs further influence health policy by collecting and analyzing data on disparities and participating in policy advocacy at various government levels. Such efforts support legislative changes targeting the structural roots of health inequities, such as inadequate housing, food insecurity, and employment instability. This active policy involvement not only promotes a more
equitable healthcare system but also helps to create sustainable improvements in health outcomesfor vulnerable populationsReferences: Beverly, N. (2023). The role of advanced practice nurses in addressing health disparities. Journal of Advanced Practice Nursing.American Nurses Association (2023). Nurse advocacy and addressing social determinants of health. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing.Equitable population health will be achieved when everyone has fair access to healthcare services, regardless of socioeconomic background, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or geographic location. As an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN), I will play a crucial role in supporting this goal by providing culturally sensitive and competent care. I will recognize the importance of culture in reducing health disparities, and I will strive to tailor my care to each patient’s unique needs and beliefs, fostering equitable treatment and improved health outcomes. My role will also involve coordinating and collaborating across various settings, ensuring continuity of care even after a patient is discharged from the hospital. By connecting patients with community resources, I will contribute to healing, disease prevention, and optimal health outcomes (Bekemeier et al., 2021). Additionally, I will recognize the value of political advocacy and will engage in policy development to address public health challenges.Despite the importance of this work, APRNs will face significant challenges in advocating for equitable population health. Limited experience in policymaking and research may restrict my ability to implement effective population health strategies. Addressing this will require continual education and training in policy and translational research, so I am committed to ongoing professional development to enhance my skills and fulfill my expanding responsibilities in publichealth. Furthermore, political resistance and funding limitations will likely complicate these efforts. To overcome these obstacles, I will work to broaden my professional networks and engage with diverse stakeholders across both the private and public sectors. By building strongerintersectoral partnerships, I aim to help establish the coalitions necessary for effective policy creation and implementation to promote equitable population health (Oruche & Zapolski, 2020).
ReferencesBekemeier, B., Kuehnert, P., Zahner, S., Johnson, K., Kaneshiro, J., & Swider, S. (2021). A Critical Gap: Advanced Practices Focused on the Public's Health. Nurse Outlook, 69(50), 865-874. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2021.03.023Equitable population health is a state where individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, and geographical setting or location, have fair access to healthcare services. Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are vital in promoting equitable population health. For example, APRNs should provide culturally sensitive and competent care. Culture plays a vital role in reducing health disparities. To ensure equitable care and improve health outcomes, individuals should receive services tailored to their specific needs, including their cultural beliefs. APRNs also play an integral role in coordinating and collaborating care with other stakeholders even after hospital discharge to ensure that patients receive appropriate care outside the comforts of the hospital (Bekemeier et al., 2021). Taking care of individuals does not end upon patient discharge; connecting and linking the patients with the available community resources is essential to facilitate healing, prevent diseases, and promote optimal health outcomes. Lastly, APRNs should be more politically involved in developing solutions to public health problems through policy development.There are different challenges and barriers that APRNs may encounter when advocating for equitable population health. Lack of knowledge and skills in policymaking and research may limit APRNs in implementing efforts that promote population health (Bekemeier et al., 2021). Toaddress this challenge, it is vital to undergo continuing education and training in policy-making and translational research. APRNs should continuously seek personal and professional development to realize their expanded roles and acquire competence in executing these unique and broader roles in public health. In addition, political resistance and funding constraints are other challenges that could hinder efforts towards equitable population health. To address and resolve these barriers, APRNs should expand their networks and involve more stakeholders in policymaking from the private and public sectors. Involving more stakeholders and communicating their roles in public health could create stronger intersectoral linkages and coalitions essential for more effective development and implementation of policies that promote equitable population health (Oruche & Zapolski, 2020).ReferencesBekemeier, B., Kuehnert, P., Zahner, S., Johnson, K., Kaneshiro, J., & Swider, S. (2021). A Critical Gap: Advanced Practices Focused on the Public's Health.Nurse Outlook, 69(50), 865-874. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2021.03.023
Oruche, U., & Zapolski, T. (2020). The Role of Nurses in Eliminating Health Disparities and Achieving Health Equity. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 58(12), 2-4. doi: 10.3928/02793695-20201112-01 WEEK 8 DQ2 NUR 550As an advanced registered nurse, discuss your future role in advocating for equitable population health services and policies. Do you anticipate any challenges or barriers to"population advocacy"? How would you meet these challenges?As the healthcare system is evolving, the role of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) is increasing and they play a crucial part in patient advocacy. The Advanced Registered Nurse is in a pivotal position to help make changes to the policy that directly affect patients.Through advocacy, the nurse can influence social policies and promote an equitable society that will endorse improved population health. (Williams et al., 2018). Advanced Registered Nurses should always advocate for proper caring of the populations especially those in a complex health care system toensure the service delivered are quality and focuses on the larger population (Williams et al., 2018). When dealing with complex issues in health care, improved training should be made with a move to focus on the fundamental needs and avoid errors that can risk the patient's life. APRNs have some roles in ensuring that there is improved care in the community, second creating better health for patients, and lastly ensuring the cost of health careamong all the population is standardized to facilitate equal advantages in a move to minimize disparities.
As an advanced registered nurse, it is my responsibility to speak up for my patients and act on their behalf to ensure their needs are met. Advanced registered nurses should engage in evidence-based research in their communities and for their patients, and ensure that effective policies and interventions are put in place to address the lack of access to good and affordable healthcare, social and material resources that form the root of health inequities for a healthier community. Advanced registered nurses through their organization or independently can advocate for the right social and economic policies and programs to promote justice, fairness, and health equity for their patients and community and adequately address the social determinants of health.Some of the barriers and challenges APRNs are facing is State license laws, as well as practice constraints that vary from state to state, which are some of the key impediments and problems that APRNs face (Peterson, 2017). Another is physician acknowledgment and augments, professional associations and organizations such as the American Medical Association do not believe that the APRNs are capable of providing quality safe care due to the fact of length and rigorous training physicians have to go through versus the APRNs (Peterson, 2017). One other big barrier is the payer policies, commercial health plan payment policies often do not recognize the APRNs as primary care providers, therefore, resisting credentialing or directly payingthem for their services provided and delivered to the patients.Some of the barriers I am may face is a language barrier and practicing freedom. The language barrier can be conquered with the use of interpreters but for freedom of practice, since each state has its own rules, it is my responsibility to get acquainted with what law is governing a specific state and abide by it. Based on my experience at the bedside, APRNs spend more time with patients compared to physicians and this gives the patients a sense of trust in their health.ReferencesPeterson M. E. (2017). Barriers to practice and the impact on health care: A nurse practitioner focus.Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology, 8(1), 74-81. https://doi.org/10.6004/jadpro.2017.8.1.6Williams, S. D., Phillips, J. M., & Koyama, K. (2018). Nurse advocacy: Adoptinghealth in all policies approach. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(3), 1-1
12. https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vo/23No03Man01Role of Advanced Registered Nurse in Advocating for Equitable Population Health Services and PoliciesAs an advanced registered nurse (ARN), you play a crucial role in advocating for equitable population health services and policies. This involves:Promoting Health Equity: ARNs can work towards reducing health disparities by advocating for policies that ensure equal access to healthcare services for all individuals, regardless of their socio-economic status, race, or ethnicity.Policy Advocacy: ARNs can influence health policies at local, state, and national levels. They can lobby for policies that promote health equity, such as increased funding for public health programs and services.Education and Awareness: ARNs can educate the public and policymakers about the importance of health equity and the need for equitable health policies.Research: ARNs can conduct and utilize research to identify health disparities and develop evidence-based strategies to address them.Challenges and Barriers to Population AdvocacyDespite the crucial role of ARNs in population advocacy, several challenges and barriers may arise:Lack of Awareness: Many people, including policymakers, may not fully understand the concept of health equity or the extent of health disparities.Political Barriers: Advocacy efforts may face opposition from politicalgroups or individuals who do not support equitable health policies.Resource Constraints: Limited resources can hinder the implementation of equitable health policies and programs.Overcoming ChallengesTo overcome these challenges, ARNs can:
Educate and Raise Awareness: ARNs can educate the public and policymakers about health equity and the need for equitable health policies.Collaborate: ARNs can collaborate with other healthcare professionals, community organizations, and advocacy groups to strengthen their advocacy efforts.Use Evidence-Based Strategies: ARNs can use research and evidence-based strategies to advocate for effective and equitable health policies and programs."Health equity is achieved when every person has the opportunity to 'attain his or her full health potential' and no one is 'disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances.'” (Braveman, 2014)ReferencesBraveman, P. (2014). What is health equity: And how does a life-course approach take us further toward it?Maternal and Child Health Journal, 18(2), 366-372.L