Presidential Agendas NURS 6050
Sample Answer for Presidential Agendas NURS 6050 Included After Question
Rather than focus on the treatment of chronic disease, policies that influence population health tend to emphasize prevention and wellness; the reduction or elimination of waste and the eradication of health disparities based on race, ethnicity, language, income, gender, sexual orientation, disability and other factors. The reasoning is that good health belongs to the whole, not just an individual. (New York State Dept. of Health, n.d.)
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 (mental health, HIV, opioid epidemic, pandemics, obesity, prescription drug prices, or many others) that rises to the presidential level. How did the current and previous presidents handle the problem? What would you do differently?
Reference:
New York State Department of Health. (n.d.). Making New York the healthiest state: Achieving the triple aim. Retrieved June 21, 2021 from https://www.health.ny.gov/events/population_health_summit/docs/what_is_population_health.pdf
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 population health topic that rises to the presidential agenda level. Which social determinant most affects this health issue? How did two recent presidents 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.
Click on the Reply button below to reveal the textbox for entering your message. Then click on the Submit button to post your message.
*Note: Throughout this program, your fellow students are referred to as colleagues.
A Sample Answer For the Assignment: Presidential Agendas NURS 6050
Title: Presidential Agendas NURS 6050
The population health topic I am choosing is the opioid epidemic. I chose this because it affects such a large population in today’s world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022), drug overdose deaths have increased by nearly 5% from 2018 to 2019 and quadrupled since 1999. Over 70% of the 70,630 deaths in 2019 involved an opioid. In 2020, 91,799 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States. The number continues to rise, and drugs seem to be more accessible.
Regarding social determinants, people from low socio-economic classes have poorer health. They are more likely to use tobacco, drink alcohol at high risk, and use illicit drugs. Drug-dependent people are particularly likely to be unemployed and to experience marginalization, both of which can exacerbate their problems and prevent seeking or benefiting from treatment (Spooner,2017). Drug abuse is not shy when it comes to whom it affects. People in low socioeconomic classes happen to get slammed with drug abuse as we have not provided the right accessibility for them.
One of President Trump’s solutions was to build a wall. Theoretically, the wall would stop illegal drugs from coming in, and this wall was supposed to be built on the Mexican border. He also said he would enhance access to addiction services, end Medicaid policies that obstruct inpatient treatment, and expand incentives for state and local governments to use drug courts and mandated treatment to respond to the addiction crisis (Kaiser Family Foundation,2017). Although some think the wall may help, it is not the solution to the epidemic. In some cases, working from the outside inward works, but in this case, I think this epidemic needs to be approached from the inside out.
In this case, I would have started the solution on the inside. I would have targeted what we can control right now. Stopping Illegal drugs from coming in will help in the long run, but you must focus on what illegal drugs are happening in the US. Building a wall doesn’t stop the use, trading, selling, or buying we are currently dealing with. I would work to eliminate those issues, do more research on who this affects the most, and start there. We know people from low socio-economic classes struggle the most, so I start there and work my way out. Maybe we start focusing on getting these people out of this low-income rut. We provide schooling, daycare, and opportunities some people will never receive. Even starting there seems small, but I would further it with Trump’s plan to enhance access to drug addiction services like counselors. I would hold more doctors accountable and pharmaceutical companies pushing these opioids for money.
According to the Democrat National Committee (2020), President Biden’s solution includes holding people accountable such as big pharmaceutical companies, executives, and others, responsible for their role in triggering the opioid crisis. Biden will create effective prevention, treatment, and recovery services available to all through a $125 billion federal investment. Most importantly, we will stop overprescribing pain medication to citizens. I think Biden’s solutions to this epidemic were much better; these solutions start inward and target the people in the US struggling. I believe the solutions listed will help the country see a decline in opioid deaths, but they won’t solve the issue altogether.
As much as I agree with this approach, I don’t think the primary producers of these drugs are being held accountable enough. I would figure out a way other than fines to serve these companies. Possibly suspending their production may be a helping solution. The problem is these companies are laced with money, so half the time, they don’t even blink at the request to hand over money due to fines. I wouldn’t change much to Biden’s policy otherwise. I think his approach gives people accessibility, and that’s truly what we need to end this epidemic.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022). Death Rate Maps & Graphs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/deaths/index.html
Democrat National Committee. (2020). The Biden plan to end the opioid crisis. Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://joebiden.com/opioidcrisis/
Kaiser Family Foundation. (2017, January 9). President-elect Donald Trump stands on six health care issues – election 2016: The issues. KFF. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.kff.org/report-section/where-president-elect-donald-trump-stands-on-six-health-care-issues/#opioid
Spooner, C. (2017). SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF DRUG USE. National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC). Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/
A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: Presidential Agendas NURS 6050
Title: Presidential Agendas NURS 6050
Hello Hannah, great topic choice. There has been an increase on Fentanyl related deaths as of lately. According to the CDC overdose deaths which includes fentanyl and fentanyl analogs increased over 56% from 2019 to 2020. (CDC, 2022). From what I have observed personally at work, there has also been a lot of cocaine overdose in much younger populations. In terms of drugs being accessible, I had a 23 yr old patient on the ICU who overdosed on cocaine because it was being shared at a party. I work in NYC, with a lot of minority populations, I deal with a lot of cases like this, most of which end up fatal, they result in cardiac arrest and end in death. I agree with your point Regarding the building of the wall during former President Trumps term. I believe the wall being built was to serve a different Agenda and not necessarily to prevent drugs from being brought across the border. A wall is not the answer, working from inside out to address the issue and hold the main culprits responsible will be a much better approach. In the USA, there have been recent legislative shifts towards less punitive policing, with the former President Obama’s bill expanding access to naloxone, the implementation in the Washington State of Good Samaritan Laws aimed at empowering community members to prevent overdose. (Vashishtha et al., 2017). I believe these are ways that we can continue to help combat these issues from the inside out like you mentioned.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, June 1). Fentanyl. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/fentanyl.html
Vashishtha, D., Mittal, M. L., & Werb, D. (2017, May 12). The North American opioid epidemic: Current challenges and a call for treatment as prevention – harm reduction journal. BioMed Central. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-017-0135-4
A Sample Answer 3 For the Assignment: Presidential Agendas NURS 6050
Title: Presidential Agendas NURS 6050
Agenda Setting in Policies
Presidents and presidential candidates use agenda-setting in campaigns and during presidential terms. According to the textbook Health Policy and Politics, 6th Edition, the definition of agenda setting is the process of bringing a problem to the government’s attention so that solutions can be considered (Milstead, Short 2019, page 17). Agenda setting is used in all career fields and is highly beneficial in the medical field. Many federal agendas promote healthcare issues as healthcare is a vital need in all people’s lives. Healthcare topics become agenda priorities as policymakers and citizens are interested in the best public policies to address society’s concerns (Milstead, Short 2019, page 17). Agenda-setting can create outcomes that can initiate new practices in healthcare organizations (Milstead, Short 2019, page 18).
Access to Mental Health
Access to mental health is an important topic at the presidential level. According to The United States Government and Biden Administration, insurers make it difficult to access mental health treatment, causing consumers to seek care out-of-network at higher costs for treatments (The United States Government, 2023). Mental health is a vital part of the healthcare system, as adequate public access to it in needed. President Biden states that mental health is health, and part of their agenda includes a strategy to transform how mental health is understood, accessed, treated, and integrated into healthcare settings (The United States Government, 2023). It is expressed that this agenda will allow those insured greater access to mental health care within their network, reducing patient costs (The United States Government, 2023). Former President Donald J. Trump stated at a time when many Americans are experiencing increased stress, anxiety, and personal loss, we must also ensure that our country can meet the mental health needs of those struggling in this crisis (National Archives and Records Administration, 2020).
This statement was made after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The former administration addressed the importance of the public’s access to mental health care. Executive orders were made under the previous administration, and funding was obtained to provide support to the mental health needs of the public (National Archives and Records Administration, 2020). After researching, it is evident that mental healthcare is an essential topic on the agendas of our former and current administrations. Through my research it is evident that how the public obtains access to mental healthcare was focused on more within the Biden Administration.
What Could Be Done Different
After working as a registered nurse at a Level 1 emergency room with a psychiatric unit, I have seen firsthand how a lack of patient resources can impact patient care. I have seen how a lack of continuity of care can impact mental health patients and lead to poor outcomes. Many patients who seek out mental health care do not know their options for receiving care and look to primary care providers or their local ER for treatments. I feel as if the former administration laid the foundation for the current administration to create its agenda. I believe that they did address the importance of mental health after the start of COVID-19 and the end of former President Trump’s term. It is my opinion that with more time former President Trump would have been able to create and implement his own agenda towards patient’s access to mental health care. I see how the Biden Administration is making mental health a priority in their healthcare agenda. I do not believe I would do anything differently. I would however want to work with and reach out to more health care professionals. I believe that by hearing the voices of the caregivers and providers the Biden Administration can learn vital information that can help improve outcomes for mental health patients. I believe that more accessible access to in-network treatment would allow for continuity of care and more follow-ups, leading to a more positive patient experience. A more positive patient experience will allow for better patient success and outcomes, which, as healthcare providers, should be our goal.
References
Milstead, J.A., & Short, NM (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed).
Jones & Bartlett Learning.
National Archives and Records Administration. (2020, October 5). President Donald J. Trump
Is Safeguarding Americans’ Mental Health and Preventing The Tragedy of Suicide.
National Archives and Records Administration.
https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-
Links to an external site.statements/president-donald-j-trump
Links to an external site. safeguarding-Americans-mental-health-preventing-tragedy-suicide/
The United States Government. (2023, July 25). Fact sheet: Biden-Harris Administration takes
Action to make it easier to access in-network mental health care. The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-
Links to an external site. Links to an external site.releases/2023/07/25/fact-
sheet-Biden-harris-administration-takes-action-to-make-it-easier-to-access-in-network-
mental-health-care/