As a health professional, my duty is to promote health, as well as to understand policies in the field of health care.
As a health professional, my duty is to promote health, as well as to understand policies in the field of health care. According to these elements I was able to interact with a population group of women in a town of Mérida Venezuela through a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of breast cancer prevention. Which had a positive impact. At that time in that community the rates of early detection of breast cancer were very low, women lacked the necessary knowledge to through a breast examination to detect any abnormality and go to their primary doctor. Therefore, once they came for care it was already in advanced stages for which high mortality rates were inevitable. Faced with these problems, a team of professionals say we draw up as an action strategy through educational talks and community survey to provide them with the tools and knowledge on these issues in a simple way. First identifying the ages, socioeconomic and educational level to be as accurate as possible and that the information was accessible to all. With the support of local health organizations and professionals in the field, we were able to detect which were the main factors that prevented these women from accessing the corresponding institutions early, the issue of poor insurance coverage prevented the realization of annual mammography, as well as the scarcity of educational programs. With this quantitative information we carried a campaign called “Women for life”, we made use of informative banners, personalized tickets, interviews with cancer survivors who told their experiences, talks that showed how to perform a breast self-exam and verification surveys to ensure the level of understanding of women. We held community events where free clinical exams were offered, as well as physicals. Together with government institutions, we were able to discuss how we could improve community access to annual mammograms through some kind of policy that could be implemented, and we were able to secure funding for this program. Two and a half years later we were seeing fruits of our initiative, the numbers showed that the impact was extremely positive, and this case was being detected in time, more women went annually to their mammogram, mortality rates were declining. I can say that when there is an interaction between policies in the field of health and health promotion, we can achieve great changes and move activism on a large scale reaffirming the belief that when there is interest and love of neighbor everyone is possible.
Regis college. ( 2021, October 29). Obtenido de How Does Nursing Influence Health Care Policy?: https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/how-does-nursing-influence-health-care-policy/
(Barbosa, 2021)
Barbosa, D. (2021, Oct 25 ). Scielo. Obtenido de Social inequalities for student leaders and professional organizations: Florence Nightingale’s political legacy: https://www.scielo.br/j/reben/a/qsz8TFSQ4WVRsgF5T5nYrCQ/
Text #2
by Yara Gonzalez Nieves –
The purpose of learning about health policy, politics and advocacy is to influence health care and broader social determinants that impact human health. As a nursing student, I have seen firsthand how advocacy can positively shape health systems. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I saw an opportunity to advocate for increased PPE supplies and resources for frontline health workers. Hospitals and clinics were experiencing dangerous shortages of masks, gowns and other protective equipment needed to care for COVID patients (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Staff reported feeling unsafe and concerned about transmitting the virus to families or other vulnerable patients. As a future nurse practitioner, I felt compelled to use my voice to address this urgent issue. I contacted my state representatives to share stories from nurses on the frontlines and urge support for emergency funding bills that would deliver more PPE to hospitals (American Nurses Association, 2020). There was an immediate response, providing enough material to work and prevent our health personnel from getting infected. I also worked with nursing organizations to draft a letter signed by over 500 nurses calling for immediate action. This grassroots advocacy helped bring attention to the crisis facing health workers. Within a month, our state received additional federal funds and was able to distribute millions of masks, gowns and gloves to hospitals and clinics (Office of the Governor, 2021). Nurses and other staff reported feeling safer caring for COVID patients with adequate PPE supplies. By leveraging relationships with policymakers and collaborating with other advocates, we were able to successfully influence the political process and get needed resources to the frontlines during a public health emergency. This experience reinforced for me the powerful impact nursing advocacy can have. Now as a registered nurse, I continue using my voice to shape policies that support quality, accessible health care for all. Advocacy will always be an important part of my role in influencing decisions affecting the patients and communities that I serve (American Nurses Association, 2023).
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Strategies for optimizing the supply of N95 respirators: Crisis/alternate strategies. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/respirators-strategy/crisis-alternate-strategies.html American Nurses Association. (2020, April 7). ANA calls for emergency funding to address critical PPE, staffing shortages amid COVID-19 crisis. https://www.nursingworld.org/news/news-releases/2020/ana-calls-for-emergency-funding-to-address-critical-ppe-staffing-shortages-amid-covid-19-crisis/ Office of the Governor. (2021, January 15). Governor announces distribution of millions of masks, gowns, and gloves to frontline health care workers. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-distribution-millions-masks-gowns-and-gloves-frontline-health-care American Nurses Association. (2023). Nursing advocacy: Leading change. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/leading-change/nursing-advocacy/
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