NURSFPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

2 Pages in length, Utilizing 3 sources focus on Mental Health (PTSD if possible) Develop a 2-4 page proposal for a policy that should help to improve health care and outcomes for your target population.

Introduction

Note: Each assessment in this course builds on the work you completed in the previous assessment. Therefore, you must complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.

Cost and access to care continue to be main concerns for patients and providers. As technology improves our ability to care for and improve outcomes in patients with chronic and complex illnesses, questions of cost and access become increasingly important. 

As a master’s-prepared nurse, you must be able to develop policies that will ensure the delivery of care that is effective and can be provided in an ethical and equitable manner.

As a master’s-prepared nurse, you have a valuable viewpoint and voice with which to advocate for policy developments. As a nurse leader and health care practitioner, often on the front lines of helping individuals and populations, you are able to articulate and advocate for the patient more than any other professional group in health care. 

This is especially true of populations that may be underserved, underrepresented, or are otherwise lacking a voice. By advocating for and developing policies, you are able to help drive improvements in outcomes for specific populations. The policies you advocate for could be internal ones (just within a specific department or health care setting) that ensure quality care and compliance. Or they could be external policies (local, state, or federal) that may have more wide-ranging effects on best practices and regulations.

Preparation

As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as part of your assessment.

  • What are the relevant best practices from a population health standpoint (cultural competence, disease prevention, and interventions) for your chosen health issue and vulnerable population?
  • How are these best practices relevant to your chosen health issue and vulnerable population?
  • Do the best practices make any reference to standards of care or benchmarks that should be achieved?
  • How could these best practices be leveraged to help inform or develop a policy and guidelines to improve care and outcomes for the vulnerable population you are working with?
  • How could technology be used to identify health concerns or collect data that could help health care practitioners determine which health care issues to focus on in a population?
  • What are the relevant laws, regulations, or policies for employing any of the technology you might find useful?
  • What type of policy and guidelines would be most likely to ensure improvements in care and outcomes related to your chosen health issue and vulnerable population?
  • Are there any policies in existence that could help inform your own policy development?
  • How might your proposed policy and guidelines influence the way in which care is accessed?
  • How might your proposed policy and guidelines influence the amount of access that is available?

Assessment 2 will build on the health issue, vulnerable population, and position that you started to develop in the first assessment. For Assessment 2, you will develop a proposal for a policy and a set of guidelines that could be implemented to ensure improvements in care and outcomes. Refer to the resource listed below:

Scenario

The analysis of position papers that your interprofessional team presented to the committee has convinced them that it would be worth the time and effort to develop a new policy to address your specific issue in the target population. To that end, your interprofessional team has been asked to submit a policy proposal that outlines a specific approach to improving the outcomes for your target population. 

This proposal should be supported by evidence and best practices that illustrate why the specific approaches are likely to be successful. Additionally, you have been asked to address the ways in which applying your policy to interprofessional teams could lead to efficiency or effectiveness gains.

Instructions

For this assessment you will develop a policy proposal that seeks to improve the outcomes for the health care issue and target population you addressed in Assessment 1. If for some reason you wish to change your specific issue and/or target population, contact your FlexPath faculty.

The bullet points below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Be sure that your submission addresses all of them. You may also want to read the

Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal Scoring Guide and Guiding Questions: Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal [DOC] to better understand how each grading criterion will be assessed.

  • Propose a policy and guidelines that will lead to improved outcomes and quality of care for a specific issue in a target population.
  • Advocate the need for a proposed policy in the context of current outcomes and quality of care for a specific issue in a target population.
  • Analyze the potential for an interprofessional approach to implementing a proposed policy to increase the efficiency or effectiveness of the care setting to achieve high-quality outcomes.
  • Communicate proposals in a professional and persuasive manner, writing content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
  • Integrate relevant sources to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

Competency 1: Design evidence-based advanced nursing care for achieving high-quality population outcomes.

  • Propose a policy and guidelines that will lead to improved outcomes and quality of care for a specific issue in a target population.

Competency 2: Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of interprofessional interventions in achieving desired population health outcomes.

  • Analyze the potential for an interprofessional approach to implementing a proposed policy to increase the efficiency or effectiveness of the care setting to achieve high quality outcomes.

Competency 3: Analyze population health outcomes in terms of their implications for health policy advocacy.

  • Advocate the need for a proposed policy in the context of current outcomes and quality of care for a specific issue in a target population.

Competency 4: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style, consistent with organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.

Communicate proposals in a professional and persuasive manner, writing content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

  • Integrate relevant sources to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.

Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal Student Sample Course Name Institution Instructor Date

Veterans are among the populations that need to be given critical care in every healthcare facility within the United States. This population develops various health issues when serving the nation, and therefore they should not be left out when caring for vulnerable populations. The majority of U.S. military veterans live a challenging life due to the injuries they experienced during their military service. 

Such injuries contribute to chronic pain among the veterans, where they are prescribed opioids as the most appropriate medication to relieve pain (Leonard et al., 2021). However, due to their persistent pain, the veterans use the medication for a prolonged period leading to the addition of the drug. The addiction contributes to other physical, emotional, and psychological impacts that make it challenging for the military to cope with their life situations. Some commit suicide due to the lack of medical support and intervention from the healthcare system of the country they served when they developed health issues. 

Since the veterans developed health issues while serving their nation, policies and guidelines need to be developed nationally to ensure that they access improved medical intervention to address their health issues. Therefore, various aspects regarding health policy proposal among veterans experiencing different health issues due to their increased use of opioids to manage their chronic pain have been discussed, including the proposed policy and guidelines, the need for the policy, and the use of the policy among the interprofessional team to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of high-quality health outcomes.

The Proposed Policy And Guidelines

The main goal of presenting a strategy and recommendations for veterans who are addicted to opioids owing to chronic pain is to provide better, more efficient, and effective holistic care. The ideal approach to attain this goal in this circumstance is to provide free medical services to veterans in any healthcare facility across the country. 

Most veterans may not be able to afford medical treatment owing to their financial situation, hence free medical services are provided. Due to the severity of their health difficulties, most veterans visit various healthcare facilities seeking medical help to the point when all of their money and property is depleted. Most veterans may not be able to afford care services if they find themselves in this circumstance, leading to even more misery.

Besides, the reason for suggesting that the veterans should be provided with care services at any healthcare facility within the nation is because some of them may be experiencing severe physical, emotional, and psychological health issues to the extent that they may be unable to visit specified facilities, especially the veteran care centers.

In such a situation, the veterans can visit any care facility, even within their localities. Moreover, the guidelines necessary for improving the health condition among the veterans involve the use of a standardized method to assess the physical, emotional, and psychological conditions experienced by this population (Seal et al., 2017). 

In this case, a standardized method will ensure that the healthcare providers in any facility where the veterans visit serve them according to findings from the standardized assessment.

The Need For The Policy

According to research, more than half of U.S. veterans experience health issues associated with opioid use. The reason for using this substance is that it is considered the most appropriate medication to relieve severe pain. Most veterans who have served in a warzone or undergone extensive training experience severe chronic pain that continuously forces them to use the medication. Opioids are prepared in a way that they will cause addiction when used for a prolonged period (Frank et al., 2019). 

This is the reason why most of the veterans who use opioids are addicted to the drug. Addiction to opioids contributes to other health issues such as mental disorders, emotional issues, and physical effects of drug withdrawal. These issues have significantly affected the veterans to the extent that they cannot access care services. Therefore, there is a need to develop a policy that encourages this population to access care services within their residence.

Currently, veterans are provided with low-quality services since they only visit veteran healthcare centers to access care services at an affordable cost. Veterans who are unable to visit their specified facilities are forced to seek medical interventions from other care centers where they may not be recognized. Therefore, they end up being given little or no attention, leading to their deteriorated health issues. 

However, through the policy proposed, the veterans can be provided with quality health services in any care facility across the country with little or no cost. It is necessary to work towards improving the health outcomes of this population because they suffered while enhancing the security of the nation. Through the policy, any healthcare provider can serve the veterans to enhance holistic care regardless of whether or not the professional is meant to serve the military forces alone.

Enhancing High-Quality Outcomes Using The Interprofessional Approach

Due to the emotional, physical, and psychological health issues that veterans experienced due to chronic pain and addiction to opioids, the interprofessional team members necessary for holistic care include the nurses, physicians, physical therapists, psychologists, and pharmacists. In this case, the nurses’ role is to educate the veterans on medical adherence and provide them with necessary care in various healthcare facilities. 

Besides, the role of the physicians is to treat any health issues evident due to chronic pain and opioids abuse (Buys et al., 2020). Moreover, the role of the physical therapists is to engage the veterans in various physical activities to strengthen their muscles, bones and refresh their minds, thus relieving the pain experienced in such areas. Furthermore, the role of the psychologists is to offer various cognitive therapies and counseling to health the mental disorders that the veterans may be experiencing. 

Lastly, the role of the pharmacists is to prescribe alternative medications for the veterans to reduce their use of opioids, thus addressing their addictive issue. The efficiency of these services can be enhanced through the proposed policy since the required interprofessional team members can be found in any healthcare facility across the nation. 

Therefore, the veterans can be provided with care services whenever they need them at any healthcare facility. Besides, the effectiveness of care services provided to the veterans will be enhanced since all the professionals mentioned play their roles based on their expertise. This implies that every healthcare professional will address only the issue that he or she has sufficient expertise, knowledge, and experience and leave other issues to be addressed by various care professionals. By doing so, the veterans will be provided with high-quality services that promote their health outcomes.

In conclusion, the veterans’ role in the nation during their military period is sufficient for policies and guidelines to be developed to promote their health conditions. In this case, the policy necessary to improve the health condition of the veterans involves the provision of free medical services at any healthcare facility within the nation. Besides, the guidelines necessary involve the use of a standardized health condition assessment method. In this case, the interprofessional team is critical for health promotion among the population.

References

  • Buys, M. J., Bayless, K., Romesser, J., Anderson, Z., Patel, S., Zhang, C., … & Brooke, B. S. (2020). Opioid use among veterans undergoing major joint surgery managed by a multidisciplinary transitional pain service. Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, 45(11), 847-852. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/rapm-2020-101797
  • Frank, J. W., Carey, E., Nolan, C., Kerns, R. D., Sandbrink, F., Gallagher, R., & Ho, P. M. (2019). Increased non-opioid chronic pain treatment in the veterans’ health administration, 2010–2016. Pain Medicine, 20(5), 869-877. https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pny149
  • Leonard, C., Ayele, R., Ladebue, A., McCreight, M., Nolan, C., Sandbrink, F., & Frank, J. W. (2021). Barriers to and Facilitators of Multimodal Chronic Pain Care for Veterans: A National Qualitative Study. Pain Medicine, 22(5), 1167-1173. https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnaa312
  • Seal, K., Becker, W., Tighe, J., Li, Y., & Rife, T. (2017). Managing chronic pain in primary care: it does take a village. Journal of general internal medicine, 32(8), 931-934. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-017-4047-5.