The nurses, indeed in advanced practices more than in any other roles, comprise one of the most essential factors of the healthcare provision, offering a range of services that could be primary or specialized. Policy changes such as the implementation of the Affordable Care Act have impacted advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) immensely, not only in rural communities with a significant population base but also in areas with an insufficient health workforce.
To promote policy change for APRNs, nurses have to undergo various activities that will include advocacy efforts that will highlight the vital role of APRNs in improving access to care. One of the efficient approaches is for APRNs and nursing associations to participate in policy discussions and legislative processes (Chiu et al., 2021). The problem is being tackled with a scientifically based study that shows the quality of the care, effectiveness and cost efficiency of APRN-provided service. With the APRN scope of practice expanded, the problem is solved convincingly. This was meaningfully delivered by reinforcing that the entire practice authority legalization in all the states would allow the APRNs to independently diagnose and interpret diagnostic tests, prescribe therapeutic drugs, and assess.
Furthermore, nurses will benefit if they forge professional associations and coalitions to bolster their advocacy campaigns. Working with other frontline medical professionals, patient advocacy organizations, and local community organizations intensifies their efforts and enlarges the cast of policymakers who hear their voices (Hajizadeh et al., 2021). Educating the public through public education solutions regarding the potency and involvement of APRNs and ways through policy adjustments may improve health outcomes and access to healthcare is an added factor.
The ACA has a vital duty to address the workforce shortage, especially in rural areas, which includes expanding and establishing APRN roles. To directly translate into the increased presence of APRNs in underserved environments is through getting provisions promoting training and deployment. This is the ACA’s way of increasing access to primary care services (Koch & Washington-Brown, 2021). Besides, the employment of nurses is encouraged, where APRNs are the directors, and this has resulted in the establishment of many nurse-managed healthcare clinics which provide a reliable access structure, especially in rural settlements.
Besides the preventive care and management of chronic illnesses catered by APRNs, the ACA is considered a plus factor and is very efficient. Hence, it makes them the target players that can transform healthcare delivery in disadvantaged areas (Tilhou et al., 2020). Through advocating for the issuance of policies encompassing the moral value and extent of APRNs, the ACA helps reduce the currently worrying shortage in the health workforce and the accessibility to reliable quality healthcare within rural communities.
In conclusion, the issue that nurses must fight for policy change is to go by evidence-based advocacy, contacts in their sphere of influence for a broader spectrum of social change, and capitalize on the chances given by the ACA. Performing this will allow them to calculate the APRNs well enough to be used as problem solvers in a healthcare system’s poor and isolated areas, resulting in a fair and patron situation.
Reference
Chiu, P., Cummings, G. G., Thorne, S., & Schick-Makaroff, K. (2021). Policy Advocacy and Nursing Organizations: A Scoping Review. Policy, politics & nursing practice, 22(4), 271–291. https://doi.org/10.1177/15271544211050611
Hajizadeh, A., Zamanzadeh, V., Kakemam, E., Bahreini, R., & Khodayari-Zarnaq, R. (2021). Factors influencing nurses participation in the health policy-making process: a systematic review. BMC nursing, 20(1), 128. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00648-6
Koch, J. A., & Washington-Brown, L. (2021). Health Policy and the Nurse Practitioner. Role Development for the Nurse Practitioner, 367.https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=MOZEEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA367&dq=The+ACA+plays+a+foundational+role+in+addressing+workforce+shortages,+particularly+in+rural+communities,+by+recognizing+and+supporting+the+expansion+of+APRNs%27+roles&ots=-esnVIDH1f&sig=J9aZsH1EW2-pkFusGQjnj-K7DVs
Tilhou, A. S., Huguet, N., DeVoe, J., & Angier, H. (2020). The Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion Positively Impacted Community Health Centers and Their Patients. Journal of general internal medicine, 35(4), 1292–1295. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-019-05571-w
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