Key Terms
- agenda setting
- the identification of an issue or issues that require resolution and bringing these issues to the attention of community partners and concerned parties
- cost-benefit analysis
- analysis that compares the outcomes of the changes to the cost of implementing a policy
- cycle of poverty
- a series of events that occur between generations; once a person or family becomes impoverished, it is almost impossible to change their economic status, and external intervention is needed to break the cycle
- directly observed therapy (DOT)
- system in which medication is dispensed at a clinic or pharmacy to a client one dose at a time to ensure compliance for those who are at high risk for noncompliance (such as with clients who lack a permanent address)
- evidence-based practice policies
- policies developed from reliable data and statistics rather than intuition and personal opinion
- four spheres of political action in nursing
- the four areas in which nurses can effect change: workplace, government, community, and professional organizations
- Health in All Policies (HiAP)
- a collaborative approach to policy creation that integrates and articulates health considerations into policy development across sectors to improve the health of all communities and people
- health policy
- policies that describe a health goal and a way to accomplish it
- health policy process
- the steps or stages that are followed as a specific issue is identified and a plan of action intended to correct it is made
- health policymaking
- the formulation and establishment of policies and methods of achieving the policies by government bodies or other relevant organizations to address any of the varied aspects of health care, which includes public health and the health care system
- institutional policy
- rules that an organization has developed to govern the activities of anyone employed by or associated with the institution
- laws
- the system of rules by which a country or community regulates the behavior and actions of its members
- nursing policy
- sets goals and boundaries for nursing practice
- policy
- a course or principle of action adopted or proposed by a government, party, business, or individual
- policy adoption
- the acceptance or ratification of a policy
- policy development process
- the steps or stages that are followed as a specific problem or concern generates a plan of action intended to correct it
- policy evaluation
- determining how a policy is working and whether the intended outcomes are happening
- policy formulation
- creating a plan to solve a previously identified problem
- policy implementation
- the process of putting a new policy into effect through planning and funding
- preexisting conditions
- health problems diagnosed before an insurance policy goes into effect and will therefore not be covered under the new insurance policy
- public policy
- local, state, or national laws and regulations
- social capital
- resources accessed through social connections or networking that decrease barriers to health care
- social justice
- the fair and equal treatment of individuals
- social policy
- policy decisions that promote the general welfare of the public
- social support
- both actual and perceived assistance from one’s friends, acquaintances, coworkers, and family
- stage-sequential model
- a process that uses five steps to create a policy; these include agenda setting, policy formulation, policy adoption, policy implementation, and policy evaluation