Policy Power and Politics in Healthcare Policy Formulation

Question: Discuss about the Policy Power and Politics in Healthcare Policy Formulation. Answer: Civil servants or the other main players in each and every organization require the need to formulate policies that are in line with the organization's goals. A user-friendly standard on public policy and a standard known as the policy cycle was developed to help stakeholders in formulating and developing policies which can be adopted. There are some benefits that are associated with the use of a policy cycle (Simmons, 2015). One of the reasons as to why policy cycle is the appropriate tool to adopt in developing new policies is the fact that it ensures that a standard is maintained (Bollegala et al., 2016). Policies are very essential in ensuring that the government or an organization achieves its goals and therefore there is need to ensure that all policies formulated meet a minimum threshold set. This also ensures that the policy to be formulated and implemented does not infringe on the rights of the people and that there are consultations undertaken before any major decision is m ade. The other reason as to why a policy cycle is an important tool to adopt is that it makes it easier to formulate and implement new policies. Policy creation is not an easy task to undertake and therefore ensuring that there is a standard in place to make sure that the same is conducted efficiently is critical. By adopting a policy cycle, those involved in decision making can quickly formulate new policies that are to be adopted and implemented without any prior experience or studies in the same. Some of the stakeholders that frequently adopt the policy cycle in implementing new laws are those in healthcare. There have been two distinct public health approaches that have been in place. One has been termed as the old public health whereas the other is known as the new public health. It is important to understand that there have been some differences noted between the two public health approaches in which new public health is an improvement of the initial one (Tulchinsky Varavikova, 2014). The old public health was primarily concerned with the biological determinants of health which is in contrast to the new public health system. The old system was concerned with the causes of various public health issues and most of the time aimed to deal with the issues of public health as they arose. However, although the old public health system was involved in ensuring that health was improved there was the need to re- evaluate and come up with a better model. In this case, the new public health system was formulated and was aimed to address the public health issues in a more holistic manner. The new public health system would ensure that policies that were to be formulated were to educate the people on issues concerning health (Rosen Imperato, 2015). The new policies to be implemented on the new public health were aimed at being more preventive than re active to ensure that there were minimal public health concerns. A good example of a preventive action that was adopted by the new public health system was educating people on causes of obesity and how to prevent the same (Tulchinsky Varavikova, 2014). As a result of this campaign, the rising cases of obesity by the public came down. Another difference that has been identified between the two systems is the fact that, the new public health system is more expensive as compared to the old one. This is because there is need to undertake various campaigns which are aimed to promote better health care as opposed to the older system. There are some social determinants that influence an individual health status. Therefore when trying to understand a persons health status, it is important to put into consideration these factors to ensure that an effective policy in formulated and enacted to effectively deal with the health issue. One of the key social determinants of health is ones income and social status (Badland et al,. 2014). It is essential to understand that most people with a higher income or a higher social status have been found to be of better health. This is because they can afford to maintain a high standard of health which is not possible for low income earners. A higher status in the society also ensures that most people can approach and receive a higher quality of care as compared to those who are from a low-income background. Education is also another key social determinant of ones health. Most people with a higher level of education can easily understand some of the key concepts that promote better health (Valentine et al., 2016). In this case, therefore, it is easier for them to ensure that their health status is of a higher quality as compared to that of the uneducated people (Adler Stead, 2014). Social support is also another key social factor that determines ones health status. It is essential to understand that by being in a social group that encourages and educates each other on some of the health concerns, one can lead a better life. Therefore it is essential and vital for each and every one to ensure that they are part of a social support group. This is not only to improve their health but also on the health of the other members of the society. When developing a health advocacy policy, it is essential to place some factors into consideration. These factors ensure that the campaign will be sustainable and successful. In developing a national obesity prevention campaign, there are some factors to consider. This will ensure that the campaign is formulated given these factors thus ensuring the success of the same (Lobstein et al, 2015). One of the factors to consider while undertaking the campaigns is the average age of the people mostly affected by obesity. It is vital to understand that there is a particular age group that is more susceptible to obesity than the other and it is essential to formulate a campaign that targets the same. One of the factors that result in obesity is the type of food being consumed. Therefore, it is important to ensure that there is the accessibility of healthy food by consumers which in turn will result in better health care. One of the reasons as to why most people consume unhealthy food is due t o the high costs associated with it. Therefore, while formulating such a policy, it is essential to ensure that the prices of food are brought down (Swinburn et al., 2015). Another key factor to consider while promoting an obesity prevention policy is that of ensuring that people engage in physical activities more. Engaging in physical activities ensures that one can lose the excess weight in their body thus resulting in a healthier lifestyle. There are some factors that have been blamed as the key reasons as to why fewer people are now engaging in physical activities. One it is due to the lack of facilities that promote taking part in the same. In developing a smoke-free environment, there are some factors that must be placed into consideration. These factors ensure the success of the policy being implemented. One of the main issues to be considered is the effect of a smoky environment. There are some adverse effects that have been associated with a smoky environment and it necessary to guarantee that the policy being formulated is aimed at addressing this problem. Undertaking a study on the effects of a smoky environment will help one formulate a good program (Coppo et al., 2014). Another key factor to consider while formulating the policy is the costs that will be associated with the formulation and the implementation of the policy. It is, therefore, important to ensure that all the necessary financial support is available from all the stakeholders involved. Implementing a policy is not a cheap task, and therefore it is vital to ensure that there is an economic as well a healthier society sense. It is also very important to ensure that one is not trying to prevent people from undertaking their activities but rather trying to create a smoke-free environment within the institution. This will ensure that the people will not feel as if being infringed from undertaking their duties. Communication is another factor that should be considered while making such a policy is the method of communication ( Coppo et al., 2014). On each and every policy there is need to ensure that people understand what the policy entails and what it aims to achieve. People understanding the policy changes will be more willing to adapt to the policy thus resulting into success. Involving people in formulating the policy is also a key step in ensuring the policy formulation and adoption is a success (Veeranki et al., 2014). People who have not been involved in policy formulation will feel left out thus hampering the success of the same. References Simmons, M. M. (2015).The Integrated Disability Evaluation System; The Political Life Cycle of Health Policy from Concept to Evaluation(Doctoral dissertation, Johns Hopkins University). Badland, H., Whitzman, C., Lowe, M., Davern, M., Aye, L., Butterworth, I., ... Giles-Corti, B. (2014). Urban liveability: emerging lessons from Australia for exploring the potential for indicators to measure the social determinants of health.Social science medicine,111, 64-73. Tulchinsky, T. 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