Nurses are experts in their profession, meaning they can express their opinions on the issues connected with their competencies and influence the passage of the final bill. It is vital to remember that the nurse understands certain aspects of community health better than others, which makes her responsible for the ratified legal decisions. In other words, when nurses disagree with the bill passed to the legislative institutions, they have objections supported by the facts and evidence (NIH, 2022). Therefore, the nurse can influence the lawmaking process by articulating the initiative and its discussion. In addition, there is the opportunity to object to the legal decision that has already been ratified if the expert opinion of the nurse does not coincide with the bill (NIH, 2022). It allows one to state that the nurse can influence the final bill passage on the stage of its proposition, its amendments, and object to its final version.
A nurse can influence the legislative sphere in several ways that lead to different results. The first method is directly participating in the lawmaking process and being a member of the groups that discuss healthcare policies (NIH, 2022). This way requires much time and dedication from the nurse, which does not allow them to pay enough attention to their work in the healthcare institution. The second way to influence the legislative process is public advocacy that supposes active social position and membership in the community (NIH, 2022). Nurses play an active social role when they are the community’s voice. They represent the needs of the majority, which makes this way of advocacy preferable. Participating directly in the lawmaking process does not allow the nurse to learn about most individuals’ views, making their decisions controversial. Community advocacy, in turn, makes the nurse understand all the peculiarities of the discussed topic.
Poverty is a social determinant of health that significantly affects public health. People who live in poverty have no opportunity to receive adequate healthcare assistance and no chance to eat healthily, and their living conditions make them the vulnerable category of society. These people are most likely to develop substance abuse and chronic illnesses that shorten their lives (Leavy, 2017). These people think they will not receive medical supervision because of their social and economic status, which emphasizes the existing community stratification problem (Leavy, 2017). It is the responsibility of the nurse to promote policy changes that directly affect this social determinant to change the conditions of life of poor people. For example, the promotion of accessible healthcare services for individuals who live below the poverty line is an initiative that professional nurses can support. They can gather documents containing evidence about the insufficient level of healthcare services provided to poor people and the descriptions of the problem that poor individuals do not usually ask for medical help.
In other words, nurses should promote humanitarian values and propose legal changes to improve the situation by providing healthcare services to poor people. The professional nurse should be the advocate of the community, which means that they represent the needs of its most vulnerable members. Individuals living below the poverty line often hesitate about their right to receive medical help like others. Therefore, the nurse has to promote these individuals’ interests on the lawmaking level.
References
Leavy, A. (2017). Trust and transformation: Building health equity in San Diego. National Civic Review, 106(3), 64–67. Web.
v. Health literacy. National Institutes of Health. Web.