Introduction
The general wellness of a collection of people and the dispersion of those findings within the group is referred to as population health. These groups are frequently geographical populations like countries or cities. They can, however, be classified as laborers, ethnic groups, disabled people, prisoners, or any other defined group (McCartney et al.,2019). Officials in both the public and private industries take an interest in the health outcomes of such groups. Population health includes general health, allocation of health variables, and initiatives to promote communal and societal health.
Some of the health determinants of population health include; socioeconomic status, access to healthcare, education, physical and social environments, and individual behaviors. By analyzing these determinants, population health seeks to determine the health needs and disparities within a specific population, aiming to improve community health (McCartney et al.,2019). This paper aims to explore the concept of population health and the involvement of different stakeholders, discuss the role of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)- prepared nurses and examine the prospects of DNP-prepared nurses in population health.
Stakeholders of Population Health
Population health involves stakeholders participating in various activities such as researching, analyzing, and implementing various population health activities. These stakeholders include; researchers and academics, public health agencies, healthcare organizations, non-profit and community-based organizations, and government agencies.
Researchers and academics. Scholars from various universities, research institutions, and public health organizations evaluate and conclude about a population’s health issues and risks and present their results to healthcare providers and public health officials. Research programs collect vital information on behaviors, risk factors, and sickness patterns. Research also helps to develop and test health promotion and disease prevention techniques. The study’s findings can be used to support lobbying efforts and rationalize public health funding.
Public health agencies. Organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) play a vital role in population health. These organizations collect data, monitor health indicators, and help implement various public health programs.
Healthcare organizations. Hospitals, healthcare institutions, and providers have continuously contributed significantly to assessing community needs, investigating adverse health incidents, and building a network of support and communication partnerships with health organizations and the media.
Non-profit organizations. These organizations are primarily based at the local level to address the community’s needs. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play critical roles in the health system by providing services and advocating for health issues. Reinsertion activities, care and healthcare, physical and monetary help, academic and knowledge services, and training are all offered, as are medical, social, and mental health services. Individual and societal behaviors are employed in health lobbying to gain political dedication, policy support, societal approval, and institutional backing for a particular health goal or program. Engagement in health policy formation is a critical function of non-governmental organizations.
Organizations that are based in the community. Community-based entities are critical stakeholders in the health system because they provide a variety of activities and services to individuals in their (typically urban) communities. Furthermore, community-based organizations usually support society’s most marginalized, poor, and stigmatized people. Community-based groups are well-positioned to deliver such services because they comprehend their local areas and have links to the populations they serve. Similarly, in reaction to scarce access to medical care, community-based organizations routinely provide important basic medical care, particularly for low- and middle-income people, women, and children. Community-based groups usually play critical advocacy roles in the health systems they serve and in providing vital medical services and activities. They are frequently relied upon to cooperate with health system executives and other interested parties in developing policies, programs, and services, and they are becoming increasingly involved in developing and producing research that guides policies, programs, and services. These initiatives foster community and public participation in medical care planning and delivery.
Government agencies. Agencies such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Cancer Institute, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) participate in population health by trying to improve the community’s healthcare safety, efficacy, quality, and effectiveness. These agencies also contribute to the implementation of population health initiatives.
Role of DNP Nurses in Population Health
A Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is an expert nursing degree. Nurses with a DNP play an important role in enhancing population health. DNP programs include a high emphasis on creative and evidence-based practice that represents the use of reliable research results (Heitzler et al.,2021). As an academic discipline, nursing academic achievement informs science, improves clinical practice, influences policy, and promotes the most stringent requirements for instructors of nurses as medical professionals, academics, and leaders.
DNP-prepared nurses contribute significantly to population health in several ways. These ways include; assessing and addressing health needs, leading interdisciplinary teams, and promoting health education and disease prevention (Heitzler et al.,2021). DNP nurses can use their expertise to address various population health challenges, promote health equity, and improve health outcomes through various roles, such as nurse practitioners, educators, researchers, and policy advocates.
DNP- prepared nurses need to assess and address the population’s health needs. The DNP-prepared nurses can conduct extensive assessments of other population health, identify the population’s health disparities and determine the specific and unique needs of the community. Acquisition of this information can help develop targeted interventions, initiatives, and programs.
DNP-prepared nurses lead interdisciplinary teams. Nursing leadership skills have improved as a result of the DNP study. The emphasis on quality improvement and directing collaborative teams has resulted in knowledgeable participation in quality initiatives across all areas of healthcare, emphasizing the need for multidisciplinary relationships. They can collaborate with physicians, social workers, and public health professionals, among others, to develop and implement effective strategies for enhancing population health.
DNP-prepared nurses can promote health education and disease prevention. Maternal and child health, immunizations, medical assistance, educational institutions health, family wellness, home care, children with impairments, women, children, refugee health, chronic illnesses, adults with disabilities, and environmental health are just a few programs that DNP-prepared nurses routinely lead (Heitzler et al.,2021). Through these programs, the DNP-prepared nurses empower the population to make informed decisions regarding their health.
DNP nurses play an important role in focusing on the root reasons for poor health by comprehending and embracing the wide range of variables that influence how well and how long individuals live, guiding in the development of the individual- and community-targeted remedies, and facilitating collaboration among multifaceted and overlapping companies and partners in executing those solutions. DNP nurses alter the overall picture of health equality over time by broadening their responsibilities, interacting in new places and ways, and considerably expanding their efforts to establish relationships with communities and other sectors.
DNP nurses play various roles in improving population health: care coordinators, health educators, primary care providers, policy advocates and analysts, quality improvement specialists, research translators, and interdisciplinary team leaders. These roles demonstrate diverse and impactful contributions (Heitzler et al.,2021). DNP-prepared nurses make to population health. Through their various roles, they strive to improve population health outcomes, promote equity and enhance patient health outcomes.
The DNP-prepared nurses are skilled in evidence-based practice; this skillfully equips them to translate the research findings of population health into clinical interventions that can be successfully implemented (Moore et al.,2019). DNP nurses can achieve this by evaluating and implementing evidence-based interventions and collaborating with relevant researchers.
DNP Nurses’ Role in Translating Evidence into Practice
Evaluating and implementing evidence-based interventions. DNP nurses are trained and skilled in appraising research evidence by reviewing and evaluating the information gathered by assessing its relevance, validity, and application to the unique clinical topic (Moore et al.,2019). The DNP nurses then identify the best practices to implement at the population level. The nurses then design, implement and monitor the effectiveness of the evidence-based practices.
Collaborating with the relevant researchers. By collaborating with the researchers, DNP nurses act as a bridge between the research and the practice (Moore et al.,2019). The DNP nurses participate in research studies, implement interventions, and later provide feedback to the researchers. This ensures that the research findings are relevant and applicable to population health.
Involvement of DNP Nurses in Policy Development for Population Health
DNP -prepared nurses are highly trained and skilled nurses whose expertise and unique perspective can contribute to developing and implementing different healthcare policies whose goal is to improve population health (Newman,2022). Some of these measures include; coalition building, addressing policy intervention and evaluating formative legislation.
Coalition building is a successful strategy for getting legal and regulatory authorization for an organization’s policy objective. Coalitions are purposely constructed to alter health behavior, achieve health outcomes, and address health inequities (Newman,2022). Nursing groups frequently create coalitions with one another or other sectors of healthcare. DNP nurses serve as coalition leaders, managing the alliance’s work and inspiring the group to stay on track.
DNP nurses are also knowledgeable about policy problems. They are armed, informed, and motivated to support an insurance policy that aspires to offer safe, effective, patient-centered, swift, efficient, and equitable care due to their enhanced knowledge and abilities (Newman,2022). DNP nurses provide expert testimony, act as subject matter experts, and obtain legislative authorization for their roles in health policy. DNP nurses develop policies that respect their core values and learn how to establish and influence policy.
DNP nurses evaluate the efficacy or lack thereof of enactment through a formative review of the policy process, addressing questions such as: What were the political hurdles to policy passage and implementation? How will the outcomes be assessed? Is this plan long-term?
As policy education content is codified inside DNP programs, educators must illustrate the significance of policy in practice to evaluate the foundation for suggested policy alterations.
Integration of Technology and Telehealth in Population Health by DNP Nurses
Technology has become an integral part of the healthcare system. This has also been incorporated into population health. Technology has transformed public health practice by enhancing healthcare delivery, monitoring health outcomes, and promoting preventive care. Telehealth uses electronic technology for communication and information to access and manage healthcare services remotely. Telehealth can help population health by using remote monitoring devices, electronic health records, and mobile applications (Jones et al.,2023). DNP nurses can use technology to improve population health outcomes by enhancing access to healthcare and collecting and analyzing data. DNP nurses can use telehealth to provide virtual care, tailor interventions to meet the specific needs of individuals and communities, collect real-time data and reach underserved populations.
Future of DNP Nurses in Population Health
DNP nurses have historically impacted the health of the communities they serve by conducting population-level health assessments and interventions and analyzing the success of public health programs. Public health nurses played a vital role in the last century’s most important public health victories, such as immunizations, workplace safety, better infants and mothers, birth control, and acknowledging nicotine as a health danger. A nurse in the public health sector with a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a valuable asset, providing advanced knowledge and competence at the community level as the healthcare system undergoes significant changes.
DNP-prepared nurses in the future can take up expanded roles and leadership positions. Their leadership talents will enable them to contribute to public health initiatives through assessment, data collection, and monitoring of a population’s health status and dissemination that information. Policy Development, offering leadership in developing policies meant to support a population’s health, incorporates scientific knowledge to make policy decisions (Heitzler et al.,2021). Assurance entails ensuring that community-oriented health services are available to individuals who would not otherwise receive them, as well as ensuring the presence of a qualified public health workforce.
DNP-prepared nurses will be able to engage in the incorporation of precision medicine in the future. Precision health is personalized healthcare based on an individual’s unique biological, genetic, or ploid structure, habits, and socioeconomic, societal, and environmental variables to help people achieve well-being and good health. Precision health involves interprofessional teamwork, community engagement, and care coordination, all of which DNP nurses are well-positioned to lead. It is critical to involve the DNP nurses in its implementation nurses will have to promote, preserve, and maximize health by conducting a holistic examination of omics and environmental elements, as well as social and economic determinants, to assess their impact on biology. This will eventually help improve population health outcomes.
Future DNP-prepared nurses can stress health equity. Health equality is realized when all individuals have an equal chance to be as healthy as feasible (McCartney et al., 2019). DNP nurses will play an important role in addressing the underlying causes of poor health by knowing and acknowledging the broad spectrum of factors that affect how well and how long people live and allowing and working with multi-sector and cross-disciplinary teams and partners to implement those solutions. Over the next ten years, DNP nurses may transform the scene of health equity by increasing their functions, working in new locations and techniques, and significantly broadening efforts to interface with families and other sectors.
Conclusion
To summarize, it is a multifaceted field that necessitates the participation of numerous stakeholders, including government agencies, non-profit and community-based entities, academics and scholars, public health agencies, and healthcare organizations. DNP-prepared nurses have professional leadership qualities, advanced knowledge, and clinical expertise, placing them in a perfect position to contribute to and improve population health. DNP-prepared nurses can improve the population’s health by integrating technology and telehealth, translating evidence-based practices into practice, developing policies, and advocating for equitable healthcare. DNP-prepared nurses will play a crucial role in the future of population health and their well-being.
References
Heitzler, E. T., & Fullbright, G. M. (2021). The mentoring role for DNP projects. Women’s Healthcare: A Clinical Journal for NPs, 9(2), 45-47.
Jones, H., Buchanan, L., Maglione, J., Norwood, A., Wynn, S., & LaManna, J. (2023). Integrating Telehealth: Curricular Mapping to New Standards in Nurse Practitioner Post-baccalaureate Doctor of Nursing Practice Programs. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 19(5), 104576.
McCartney, G., Popham, F., McMaster, R., & Cumbers, A. (2019). Defining health and health inequalities. Public Health, 172, 22-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2019.03.023
Moore, E. R., Watters, R., & Wallston, K. A. (2019). Effect of Evidence‐Based Practice (EBP) Courses on MSN and DNP Students’ Use of EBP. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 16(4), 319-326.
Newman, B. (2022). Nurse-policymaker process improvements: Legislative action interest group participation in policymaking.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2019). Public health nursing e-book: Population-centered health care in the community. Elsevier Health Sciences.
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