The opioid crisis or epidemic is a critical public health issue and requires immediate yet concrete interventions to stop the increasing death toll associated with OUD. The issue is important because it increases the cost of care burden on Americans and the health care system. For instance, the current administration has allocated over $48 billion to help in efforts to reduce the epidemic and improve the health of those affected. These efforts include investing in different initiatives to breakdown the supply chain of drug suppliers at national and international levels as well as offering funds at the state and local levels to increase mitigation efforts and reduce mental health problems. The issue has attracted significant legislative measures as demonstrated by the enactment of the SUPPORT Act and even expansion of Medicaid and Medicare under the ACA to increase access to mental health services (Blanco et al., 2020). Furthermore, having legislations that will affect other components of the issue and improve health and wellness for those affected would be critical in addressing the issue.
Nurses play a critical role in setting agenda because of their strategic position which entails linking patients to other healthcare professionals. As the largest component of healthcare workforce, nurses can influence policy and agenda setting through championing changes and advocating for interventions to tackle the opioid use disorder and its associated mental health issues (Wen et al., 2022). Nurses set the healthcare agenda based on their critical roles in care provision and increased specialty as they deal with patients from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
Agenda setting for different presidents and their administrations is key to delivering on their election promises, especially in healthcare provision. The opioid epidemic is a serious public health concern that requires effective and long-term intervention, especially at the presidential level through agendas and implementation of different strategies. The grid demonstrates efforts by the current administration and the previous one on the implementation of various measures and actions to control and prevent the opioid epidemic.
NURS 6050 Discussion: Presidential Agendas
NURS 6050 Discussion: Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
NURS 6050 Assignment: Legislation Grid and Testimony/Advocacy Statement
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