Policy advocacy actions at the organization, state and national levels: National level

Background: Throughout nursing’s history, times of health and social reform have provided the impetus for political engagement through policy advocacy actions. With the implementation of the Patient Protections and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and several health-oriented national initiatives, i.e., building a culture of health, generation public health, and the public good project, we are in such a time today.

Description: Established models for health policy and advocacy actions, i.e., stages of nursing’s political development (Cohen et al., 1996) and the framework for action (Mason et al., 2014), provide a useful foundation for discourse about public health nursing (PHN) policy advocacy at the national level. Using these frameworks, this presentation will highlight key directions for national policy advocacy in the current context for healthcare reform and social determinants of health. Policy advocacy actions can occur in the areas of community, workplace, government and professional organizations.  

Lesson Learned: Public health nurses have the opportunity to learn lessons of political engagement from the history of our specialty and leaders of the past. Early PHN leaders, like Wald and Beard, took on proactive roles of political activism, leadership and agenda setting. While times have clearly changed, awareness of reactive positions of political self-interest can evolve, with intention and urgency, to more proactive stances of political engagement.

Implications: PHN leaders have an opportunity to drive health policy and advocacy actions that will improve health care and public health systems and foster the triple aim of better individual care, better population health, and lower costs.