Health Equity
As an advanced practice nurse, it is crucial to address the underlying cause of social determinants of health (SDOH) that impact a population’s health outcomes. These SDOHs are often linked to government policies and regulations. To achieve health equity for a population, advanced practice nurses understand the significance of addressing the root cause of poor health outcomes.
Once you acknowledge the connection between health inequities and SDOH, the next step is to determine the root cause driving the existence of these determinants. SDOH are not natural factors leading to poor health outcomes but rather the results of intentional or unintentional policies. The decisions made by policymakers and their consequences shape and contribute to the ongoing health inequities and differences.
Select a health inequity that is associated with a specific vulnerable population within your community, state, or region.
Research the health inequity impacting your selected population and focus on existing policies or regulations that may be contributing to the problem. For example, a high rate of uninsured residents in a state could be due to a state’s refusal to accept the Medicaid expansion that is part of the Affordable Care Act. In other words, the state’s governing body has made it a policy to refuse the expansion that would have provided most people in the state with access to medical insurance. The result is continued poor health outcomes among the uninsured who do not receive basic preventable care. Another example is a government policy that ties public school funding to the tax base of the area the school district covers. This means that schools in low-income communities will be underfunded while schools in more affluent areas will benefit from the wealthier tax base. As a result, kids in low-income districts will face overcrowded classrooms, few resources, severely scaled-back extracurricular programs, teacher shortages, etc. As stated in earlier weeks, the quality of education is an SDOH affecting the population’s health.
Write a 1,050- to 1,250-word paper that includes:
o An overview of the vulnerable population and the health concern
o Include data to support the existence of the vulnerable population.
o Provide a granular description of the population, including a comprehensive picture of the environment they inhabit.
o A detailed description with supporting evidence and data of the SDOH involved in the selected population’s health concern
o Identification and description of at least 1policy that is contributing to the existence of the health inequity
o Full analysis of the policy’s contribution to the inequity
o Background or history of the policy
o Evidence and data that establish the link between the policy and the health outcomes
o Advocacy plan to address the disparity
Rubric
• Vulnerable Population
10% of total grade
• Population Description
15% of total grade
• Policy Identification
15% of total grade
• Policy Analysis
30% of total grade
• Advocacy Plan
20% of total grade
• Cultural Competence and Ethics: Open-minded to self and others
5% of total grade
• APA, Grammar, and Writing Mechanics
3% of total grade
• Information Literacy
2% of total grade
