Nursing and Health Policy

Abstract

To describe ways nurses are and are not effective in the development of health policy in the United States today, and to provide useful information for those interested in making nursing a more vital part of the policy arena. Qualitative examination of the career experiences and observations of a purposive sample of 27 American nurses currently active in health policy at the national, state, local, or organizational level. Semi-structured interviews regarding career path, contributing resources improvement of resources available to nurses, and the strengths and weaknesses of currently available information for policy work. For nurse participants, policy involvement meant speaking for patients in arenas where those need of care have limited voice. Participation occurred after assessment, diagnosis, and planning revealed the need for change in the way resources were allocated. Strong belief in the capacity and importance of people caring for themselves distinguished nurses in their policy roles. Policy makers responded to the experiences and determinants of health and illness as presented by nurses. Once engaged, nurses seldom turned their backs on the world of policy-making. However, they did not report significant use of nursing research or information in policy making. Further investigation and testing of systems to connect nurse policymakers with nurse scholars are recommended.