Pop approaches and clinical (750 words)

Answer

• Pop Approaches and Clinical Factors

  Social health determinants such as poverty, lack of education, unequal health care access, racism, and stigma have, for a long time, affected a neighboring local community, contributing to various factors of health inequities. This time, the community is being impacted by a potentially toxic environmental issue. I want to bring them together and develop a plan to meet with their local legislators and address the issue.

  As a nurse, I advocate for the good health and well-being of communities around me. Nurses support their patients all the time, whether individually or as a health care team, to ensure they receive the most appropriate health care plan. In this case, I would leverage the community resources by acting as an advocate, as well as a lobbyist. What is the difference between the concept of advocacy and that of lobbying? According to Mason, Dickson, McLemore, and Perez (2021), lobbying is a form of advocacy that entails influencing outcomes and leveraging political resources. Still, unlike advocacy, it is subject to various standards and regulations that lobbyists and their clients must adhere. In addition, why should nurses take the responsibility to help eliminate public health issues? As a nurse, I can act as an advocate, as well as a lobbyist. While acting as an advocate and lobbyist, it is crucial to attend legislative hearings and briefings in order to gather specific information about the environmental issue, as well as search for and connect with various stakeholders with the same goal.

  Socioeconomically disadvantaged populations are more likely to have poor health and less likely to access quality health care services (Williams, Phillips & Koyama, 2018). Hispanics and other low-income residents live in poverty, and very few are insured, forcing them to endure a significant amount of health inequities burden. The nursing profession's foundation is rooted in the ultimate concern for the social, physical, and emotional needs of disadvantaged groups such as this community. Therefore, I will use these abilities to network and create relationships with the local legislators and policymakers, and let them know about the need to address and eliminate the issue.

  On a more personal note, leveraging the community resources will also include connecting with the policymakers individually to gain an opportunity to advance the issue. These connections can be attained through in-person meetings and written communications. In-person meetings would help leverage the community resources by adding to the influence on the lawmakers by providing a policy request individually. Providing my story individually about the potential toxicity of the environmental issue to the legislator would help advance the issue, and hence build a policy that would address or eliminate it. In cases where it would be difficult to meet the legislators in person, I would use short written materials addressing the issue and the potential policy changes that would help address both the problem and the stakeholders supporting the changes.  Effective communication with the legislators and policymakers is significant in attaining the desired policy outcomes.

  However, the HATCH Act may limit the efforts to leverage community resources due to its various limitations. Notably, the act applies to all federal employees and prohibits many things, including carrying out any political activity while on duty (Mason et al., 2021). For instance, I might choose to join political life and become a nurse elected in the office to make it easy to pass and enforce public health policies. This action would be a good and quick way to leverage community resources and help eliminate the issue. However, because of the HATCH Act, it would be difficult for an individual in the office to endorse me and so I can quicken the process.

  Becoming a nurse politician would help promote my interests in helping the community as I will look out for the community's best interests and the people's good health. Being a nurse in the assembly is essential in shaping public health policies in low-income and socially disadvantaged communities. Besides, engaging in sociopolitical activities helps safeguard the nursing profession from unhealthy policies that ultimately change the public policy (Alhassan, Kumi-Kyereme, Wombeogo & Fuseini, 2019). Nurses are better positioned to influence public health policies better than other healthcare providers because of their ability to serve as advocates to their patients and communities. According to Alhassan et al. (2019), nurses have the necessary experience, legacy, and education to address the social determinants of health and the factors that have negative impacts on people’s health. As such, political involvement can contribute significantly to the efforts aimed at leveraging community resources and address, as well as eventually eliminate the environmental issue.