NURS 6050: POLICY AND ADVOCACY FOR IMPROVING POPULATION HEALTH discussion essay assignments Module 1: Agenda Setting (Weeks 1-2)

NURS 6050: POLICY AND ADVOCACY FOR IMPROVING POPULATION HEALTH discussion essay assignments Module 1: Agenda Setting (Weeks 1-2)

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Meet the Experts: Pioneers in Policy [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Policy Process [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Learning Objectives
Students will:

Compare U.S. presidential agenda priorities
Evaluate ways that administrative agencies help address healthcare issues
Analyze how healthcare issues get on administrative agendas
Identify champions or sponsors of healthcare issues
Create fact sheets for communicating with policymakers or legislators
Justify the role of the nurse in agenda setting for healthcare issues

Due By Assignment
Week 1, Days 1–2 Read/Watch/Listen to the Learning Resources.
Compose your initial Discussion post.
Week 1, Day 3 Post your initial discussion post.
Week 1, Days 4-5 Review peer Discussion posts.
Compose your peer Discussion responses.
Begin to compose your Assignment.
Week 1, Day 6 Post at least two peer Discussion responses on two different days (and not the same day as the initial post).
Continue to compose your final draft of your Assignment.
Week 1, Day 7 Wrap up Discussion.
Week 2, Day 1–6 Continue to compose your Assignment.
Week 2, Day 7 Deadline to submit your Assignment.

Photo Credit: [Anuska Sampedro]/[Moment]/Getty Images

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

    Chapter 1, “Informing Public Policy: An Important Role for Registered Nurses” (pp. 11–13 only)
    Chapter 2, “Agenda Setting: What Rises to a Policymaker’s Attention?” (pp. 17–36)
    Chapter 10, “Overview: The Economics and Finance of Health Care” (pp. 171–180)
    Chapter 12, “An Insider’s Guide to Engaging in Policy Activities”
        “Creating a Fact Sheet” (pp. 217-221)

DeMarco, R., & Tufts, K. A. (2014). The mechanics of writing a policy brief. Nursing Outlook, 62(3), 219–224. doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2014.04.002

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Kingdon, J. W. (2001). A model of agenda-setting, with applications. Law Review, M.S.U.-D.C.L., 2(331).

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Lamb, G., Newhouse, R., Beverly, C., Toney, D. A., Cropley, S., Weaver, C. A., Kurtzman, E., … Peterson, C. (2015). Policy agenda for nurse-led care coordination. Nursing Outlook, 63(4), 521–530. doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2015.06.003

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

O’Rourke, N. C., Crawford, S. L., Morris, N. S., & Pulcini, J. (2017). Political efficacy and participation of nurse practitioners. Policy, Politics, and Nursing Practice, 18(3), 135–148. doi:10.1177/1527154417728514

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Enhancing Environmental Health Content in Nursing Practice, Pope, A. M., Snyder, M. A., & Mood, L. H. (Eds.). (n.d.). Nursing health, & environment: Strengthening the relationship to improve the public’s health. Retrieved September 20, 2018.

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

USA.gov. (n.d.). A-Z index of U.S. government departments and agencies. Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/a

USA.gov. (n.d.). Executive departments. Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.usa.gov/executive-departments

The White House. (n.d.). The cabinet. Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-trump-administration/the-cabinet/

Document: Agenda Comparison Grid Template (Word document)

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Setting the Agenda [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Discussion: Presidential Agendas

Regardless of political affiliation, every citizen has a stake in healthcare policy decisions. Hence, it is little wonder why healthcare items become such high-profile components of presidential agendas. It is also little wonder why they become such hotly debated agenda items.

Consider a topic that rises to the presidential level. How did each of the presidents (Trump, Obama, and Bush) handle the problem? What would you do differently?

To Prepare:

Review the Resources and reflect on the importance of agenda setting.
Consider how federal agendas promote healthcare issues and how these healthcare issues become agenda priorities.

By Day 3 of Week 1

Post your response to the discussion question: Consider a topic that rises to the presidential level. How did each of the presidents (Trump, Obama, and Bush) handle the problem? What would you do differently?
By Day 6 of Week 1

Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days by expanding on their response and providing an example that supports their explanation or respectfully challenging their explanation and providing an example.

*Note: Throughout this program, your fellow students are referred to as colleagues.

Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 1 Discussion Rubric

Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 1

To participate in this Discussion:

Week 1 Discussion

Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief

It may seem to you that healthcare has been a national topic of debate among political leaders for as long as you can remember.

Healthcare has been a policy item and a topic of debate not only in recent times but as far back as the administration of the second U.S. president, John Adams. In 1798, Adams signed legislation requiring that 20 cents per month of a sailor’s paycheck be set aside for covering their medical bills. This represented the first major piece of U.S. healthcare legislation, and the topic of healthcare has been woven into presidential agendas and political debate ever since.

As a healthcare professional, you may be called upon to provide expertise, guidance and/or opinions on healthcare matters as they are debated for inclusion into new policy. You may also be involved in planning new organizational policy and responses to changes in legislation. For all of these reasons you should be prepared to speak to national healthcare issues making the news.

In this Assignment, you will analyze recent presidential healthcare agendas. You also will prepare a fact sheet to communicate the importance of a healthcare issue and the impact on this issue of recent or proposed policy.

To Prepare:

Review the agenda priorities of the current/sitting U.S. president and the two previous presidential administrations.
Select an issue related to healthcare that was addressed by each of the last three U.S. presidential administrations.
Reflect on the focus of their respective agendas, including the allocation of financial resources for addressing the healthcare issue you selected.
Consider how you would communicate the importance of a healthcare issue to a legislator/policymaker or a member of their staff for inclusion on an agenda.

The Assignment: (1- to 2-page Comparison Grid, 1-Page Analysis, and 1-page Fact Sheet)

Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid

Use the Agenda Comparison Grid Template found in the Learning Resources and complete the Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid based on the current/sitting U.S. president and the two previous presidential administrations and their agendas related to the public health concern you selected. Be sure to address the following:

Identify and provide a brief description of the population health concern you selected and the factors that contribute to it.
Describe the administrative agenda focus related to the issue you selected.
Identify the allocations of financial and other resources that the current and two previous presidents dedicated to this issue.
Explain how each of the presidential administrations approached the issue.

Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis

Using the information you recorded in Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid on the template, complete the Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis portion of the template, by addressing the following:

Which administrative agency would most likely be responsible for helping you address the healthcare issue you selected?
How do you think your selected healthcare issue might get on the agenda for the current and two previous presidents? How does it stay there?
Who would you choose to be the entrepreneur/ champion/sponsor of the healthcare issue you selected for the current and two previous presidents?

Part 3: Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief

Using the information recorded on the template in Parts 1 and 2, develop a 1-page Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief that you could use to communicate with a policymaker/legislator or a member of their staff for this healthcare issue. You can use Microsoft Word or PowerPoint to create your Fact Sheet or Talking Point Brief. Be sure to address the following:

Summarize why this healthcare issue is important and should be included in the agenda for legislation.
Justify the role of the nurse in agenda setting for healthcare issues.

By Day 7 of Week 2

Submit your final version of Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid, Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis, and Part 3: Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief.
Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
Click the Week 2 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
Click the Week 2 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.
Due to the nature of this assignment, your instructor may require more than 5 days to provide you with quality feedback.

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 2 Assignment Rubric

Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity

To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:

Submit your Week 2 Assignment draft and review the originality report.

Submit Your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 2

To submit your Assignment:

Week 2 Assignment

Next Module

To go to the next Module:

Module 2

Module 2: Legislation (Weeks 3-4)