As a healthcare professional, you may be asked to provide expertise, guidance, and/or opinions on healthcare issues that are being debated for inclusion in new policy. You may also be involved in the development of new organizational policies and responses to legislative changes. For all of these reasons, you should be prepared to discuss national healthcare issues that are making headlines.
Veterans are at risk of complex conditions and are vulnerable to service-related conditions such as mental illnesses. Despite veterans having served the country on overseas missions, they encounter challenges accessing affordable and quality healthcare. Veterans’ healthcare is an issue that has reached the presidential level, and the current and former presidents have signed laws to improve healthcare access and mental health services for this population (Hester, 2017). Improving access and quality of healthcare to veterans is important because this population experiences substance use disorders, mental health disorders, post-traumatic stress, chronic pain, amputations, and traumatic brain injury at disproportionate rates compared to their non-veteran counterparts (Oster et al., 2017). Besides, a large fraction of veterans commits suicide secondary to mental health issues.
It is crucial that the national and state governments enact laws that increase access to affordable healthcare to reduce morbidity and mortality rates associated with these conditions. For instance, laws on mental health can be legislated, requiring that the federal government fund mental health services for veterans in both public and private facilities (Oster et al., 2017). Legislations can also be enacted that require the federal government to fund medical expenses for veterans who develop work-related disorders.
The nurse has a major role in setting healthcare agendas since nurses are involved in direct patient care and are significantly affected by health policies. Nurses can significantly influence healthcare policies through their daily healthcare delivery role. Since nurses understand the issue affecting healthcare delivery and the best ways to address them, they can best advise policymakers on laws that can improve healthcare systems and increase access to healthcare services (Milstead & Short, 2019). Besides, the nurse has a role in agenda-setting of proposing strategies that will benefit the communities based on their comprehensive understanding and specialization in particular areas of health care.
Therefore, veterans suffer from various complex issues ranging from mental matters to physical conditions. As such, it becomes the responsibility of the government of the day to ensure that their welfares are well addressed. The administrations of President’s Bush, Obama and Trump adopted various policies to mitigate the suffering of the veterans.
Duhaney, T. (2020). How veteran utilization of the Veterans Health Administration could impact privatization. Public Policy & Aging Report, 30(1), 29-35.https://doi.org/10.1093/ppar/prz032
Hester, R. D. (2017). Lack of access to mental health services contributing to the high suicide rates among veterans. International journal of mental health systems, 11, 47. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-017-0154-2
Order this paper