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During his time at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, he was deputy secretary for the local chapter of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association. (2017). These are opinion pieces and are not peer reviewed. Mr. Afizu Alhassan holds a Master of Nursing Degree from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University for Development Studies, also in Ghana. National Library of Medicine Vandenhouten CL, Malakar CL, Kubsch S, Block DE, Gallagher-Lepak S. Policy Polit Nurs Pract. Marquis and Huston define politics as the art of using legitimate power wisely. The nursing profession has significant power to profoundly impact healthcare policy on a global scale. J Contin Educ Nurs. Search for jobs related to Why are nurses reluctant to get involved in politics or hire on the world's largest freelancing marketplace with 22m+ jobs. Policy and politics: why nurses should get involved. : 10.1177/1527154417728514, Primomo, J., &Bjorling, E. A. Keywords: Only 30% and 45% of participants in studies by Vandenhouten et al. I persevered through nursing school, despite the 20-hour days with clinical rounds in the early morning, lectures in the afternoon and care plans & papers until early morning hours. Opiate Crisis and Healthcare Reform in America: A Review for Nurses, Healthcare Transformation: A Bibliometric Analysis of a Global Endeavor, The State of Play: Healthcare Reform in 2017, Nurses Advancing Telehealth Services in the Era of Healthcare Reform, Policy Advocacy Motivators and Barriers: Research Results and Applications, Nurse Policy Entrepreneurship in a Rural Community: A Multiple Streams Framework Approach. We shortchange ourselves by deference to authority, by not insisting on representation, and by self-deprecation, a strategy that devalues us, erodes our self-esteem and belief in ourselves. These earlier findings are in sharp contrast to the present study where 91.1% of the participants were registered members of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA). Imagine youre on, Jeri Milstead is inducted into the ANA Hall of Fame.. Tag: why are nurses reluctant to get involved in politics For more information please follow the below link: It is a matter of Profit over People due to the FOR PROFIT status of the industry due to Nixon. The details, including your email address/mobile number, may be used to keep you informed about future products and services. Find the right nursing program for you. This article reports findings from a survey of registered nurses in three hospitals and two nursing training schools in Tamale, Ghana. 2016. With nurses working longer into their careers, there's a more noticeable hesitance among them to accept transitions. Clark, P. E. (2008). The authors discuss their findings, and conclude that nurses may not participate in high intensity level political activities, but they do engage in low intensity actions, such as voting in elections. Nursing leadership in addressing the social determinants of health. These activities included voting; campaigning; attending rallies; volunteering; contacting elected officials; working with others on local problems or issues; and being a member of nursing or non-nursing organizations that take stands on political issues. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site. Nurses may be hesitant to take a political stance on healthcare problems for a number of reasons. sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal But without a seat at the table, legislators inexperienced in healthcare are making health-related decisions. 2013 Oct;14(4):254-70. doi: 10.1111/nup.12007. Epub 2022 Mar 31. 24, No. All were motivated by early life events to realize the importance of social justice and good government. Kenyan nurses involvement in national policy development processes. As patient advocates, nurses cannot continue to be spectators in the political arena. Most do not have the adequate exposure as far as law making is concerned. Total Population by Country 2019. His duties at the University for Development Studies include coordinating and supervising student research. Good information.There are some Conferences happening in which medical specialty would be Nursing and here is one of those conferences. One systematic review of the literature published between 2000 and 2019 found no precise reason why nurses are reluctant to become involved in health policymaking. and transmitted securely. Another study in the United States assessing the political efficacy of nurse practitioners reported that the participants generally had limited political participation (ORourke et al., 2017). should provide some support. 'Why do politics and policies affect us as nurses and humans?' ISSN: 1091-3734 American Nurses Association - 8515 Georgia Avenue - Suite 400 - Silver Spring, MD 20910, Michael Wombeogo, PhD, DLITT ET PHIL; MA, HPE; MA, DS; MSc, PH; BA, Nur & Psy; SRN, David C. Benton PhD, RGN, FRCN, FAAN; Deborah E. Trautman, PhD, RN, FAAN; Maureen Swick, RN, MSN, PhD, NEA-BC, Joelle T. Fathi, DNP, MN, BSN, RN, ANP-BC; Hannah E. Modin, MHA, B.A. Oestberg F. Policy and politics: why nurses should get involved. These findings reflect the general characteristics of the target population and the nursing population in Ghana as a whole, where the majority of nurses have a diploma as their highest qualification, and only a few nurses have masters degrees or doctoral degrees. All these findings suggest that even though nurses may register to vote, and vote for a particular candidate in an election, they may not participate in other activities to support the candidate or political party. Wilson DM, Anafi F, Kusi-Appiah E, Darko EM, Deck K, Errasti-Ibarrondo B. Appl Nurs Res. Political participation was defined as nurses involvement in activities considered to be political in nature (Vandenhouten et al., 2011). MeSH Registered nurses' perceptions of their roles in medical-surgical units: A qualitative study. How and why nurses became involved in politics or political action, and Descriptive statistics were used to show the level of nurse participation in politics and to describe common practices engaged in by nurses as a form of political participation. Concerning this objective, there were mixed findings from this study in that, although nurses agreed that politics should be of concern to nurses, only a small number of the nurses were found to be politically astute. Yamane, T. (1967). Because nurses have an intimate knowledge of patients and their health status, and the factors that affect these, they can make unique and sustaining contributions to how health policy is shaped. Lack of opportunity and time to get involved due to the time demands of being within the nursing field. As the largest medical profession in the world, nurses should be leading the way in redesigning the healthcare system. He is a Fellow of both the West African College of Nurses and the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives and a Member of the Sigma Theta Tau International. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted As insane as it is, a couple of years ago an insurance company demanded I make 125 case calls each day. She has published and lectured throughout her career. FOIA In a 2010 report on the future of nursing, the Institute of Medicine now known as the National Academy of Medicine set forth specific goals for the nursing field. Modification of nursing education for upgrading nurses' participation: a thematic analysis. Additionally, participants were asked whether they have ever actively supported a candidate for election as an Assemblyman or a Member of Parliament (e.g., by campaigning or wearing party souvenirs). The PAI is a 40-item questionnaire with each affirmative response valued at one point. Careers. In other words, they were in the category of low and very low levels of political participation. There are several reasons for the limited nursing participation in policy and politics. Why Healthcare Finance Is Important to Nurses. Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 21 (IBM, 2015). Nurs Philos. This frustration often leads to negativity, disillusionment, bitterness, and burn-out. Ethical ConsiderationsThe study was conducted in five different institutions, specifically two district hospitals, one teaching hospital, and two nursing training schools. Respiratory Therapists: Oxygen Therapy: What you need to know to get it right for your patients. As there are few politically-active nurses now (Salvage & White, 2019; Santilln-Garca, 2020; Wilson et al., 2020), understanding why some nurses engaged in politics and public policy advocacy would help to find ways to increase the involvement of nurses in political spheres. https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/taste-of-new-orleans-2019-encore-symposium 2015 Jan 1;7(4):161-72. doi: 10.5539/gjhs.v7n4p161. Step-by-step explanation Nurses have been to some degree hesitant to do this previously. Afizu Alhassan, MN, BSN, RNEmail: hafizbinhassan@outlook.com. Survival includes individual involvement within communities. How and why nurses became involved in politics or political action, and the outcomes or impacts of this involvement Nurs Outlook. Budden JS, Moulton P, Harper KJ, Brunell ML, Smiley R. The 2015 national nursing workforce survey. J N Y State Nurses Assoc. Michigan: Univerity of Michigan Press. Policy and politics: why nurses should get involved - PubMed Determining if nurses are involved in political action or politics: A scoping literature review. Data Collection ProcedureAfter institutional approval, data collection was completed over a period of three weeks, from March 27 to April 14, 2017. Nurses were generally not likely to actively support a candidate for elections. It is critically important for nurses to inform and advance public policy, through direct political activities. https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/palm-springs-oasis-in-the-desert-2019-encore-symposium. nursingworld.org/NurseLegislatorDirectory.aspx. However, little is. She loves covering topics worthy of more attention in healthcare, education, mental health, and social justice. How and why nurses became involved in politics or political - PubMed From apathy to political activism. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer. An official website of the United States government. 2016;7(1): s1-s92. (2005). Political Astuteness Inventory. J Nurs Regulation. Retrieved from http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/. Power is invariably confronted with and acts in the presence of a field of responsibility. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 12(1). The Cronbach's alpha for this adapted version was 0.82. Why are nurses reluctant to become politically involved in After all, healthcare legislation ultimately affects us all. / D.O. ), Nurses, Physician Assistants, and Dentists. He served as the national president of the Ghana Nurse and Midwife Trainees Association during his student days at the Nurses Training College, Tamale. Kelly ( 2007) posits that nurses must become political activists to safeguard the profession from unhealthy policies, which can be channeled through politics and changes in public policy. This limited participation is seen more clearly when nurses were asked about how much money they were able to contribute to political parties, candidates or nursing organizations for political purposes. All of these findings clearly indicate that nurses are generally very interested in voting as a political activity. 2020 Aug;54:151279. doi: 10.1016/j.apnr.2020.151279. Epub 2011 Nov 22. For close to four decades, many nursing scholars have called for the profession to develop a cadre of politically active nurses in order to compete for scarce resources (Cramer, 2002). 2023 HealthCom Media All rights reserved. With the patient # assignments and documentation mandates ever increasing, I left the hospital setting for a career in clinical research. However, nurses who were on leave, or who had retired by the time the data were collected, were excluded from the final sample. A period of one week was allowed for consenting participants to complete the survey. While not all nurses can make large commitments, every nurse can participate in a small way, such as supporting nursing associations or writing to their state or federal representatives. Who suffers? Nurses level of political participation was measured using the Political Astuteness Inventory. In M. J. Clark (Ed), Community assessment reference guide for community health nursing: Advocacy for population health. nurses are not generally apathetic towards political activities, yet they are limited in the extent to which they participate. In many countries, nurses constitute the largest workforce in the healthcare sector (Juma et al., 2014; Shariff, 2014). Health Promotion International, 26(1), 117-127. doi:10.1093/heapro/dag073. These findings are similar to those of Avolio (2014) who studied the beliefs and practices of registered nurses in Canada with regards to political advocacy, and reported that 78% of nurses surveyed either agreed or strongly agreed that it is important for nurses to be politically active, and 76% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that politics is a concern of nurses. The results of the independent t-test showed that the mean score on political participation for males was statistically significantly higher (15.81) compared to females (14.20), (t (223) = 2.525, p = .012). Please enable it to take advantage of the complete set of features! I found this article to be an interesting read as to why many nurses are not involved in politics and to learn of the ways that nurse can become involved in politics. For that reason, nurses need to be active in the political process through which they may influence public policies on health. Factors influencing organized political participation in nursing. The summation and levels of the PAI used in this study included: (a) totally politically unaware (0-8 points); (b) slightly aware of the implications of political activity for nursing (9-17 points); (c) shows a beginning political awareness (18-26 points); and (d) politically astute and an asset to the profession (27-35 points). Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am. https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/complex-cardiovascular-catheter-therapeutics-advanced-endovascular-and-coronary-intervention-global-summit-2019 Abstract. Nurs Res Pract. Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. The subject matter i want to touch has been one . Akwasi Kumi-Kyereme, PhD, MPhil, B.AEmail: akkyereme@ucc.edu.gh. Accessibility 2010 Jan;23(1):60-2. doi: 10.1177/0894318409353794. Political astuteness, including awareness, knowledge, and involvement, is necessary if nurses are to engage in policy advocacy-a vital aspect of the nursing profession. These percentages are generally higher than the average voter turnout in national elections in Ghana, which is estimated at 71.35% (International Foundation for Electoral Systems, 2019). I eventually simply refused to do it as did thousands of other RNs. Epub 2020 May 5. (2019). But every action we do as nursing professionals is affected by politics and governmental legislation. Table 1. Factors influencing nurses participation in the health policy-making Similarly, Avolio (2014) noted that although nurses agreed that it was important to be politically active, only 30% of respondents reported that they were motivated to become involved in politics. Conclusions: But beyond patient advocacy, nurses can rally on behalf of other nurses and healthcare providers. This finding also supports the assertion of Boswell, Cannon, and Miller (2005) who described nurses apathy towards political participation as a pandemic. The results of these tests are presented in Table 4. Marquis BL, Huston CJ. Since Ghanaian nurses are generally more interested in just voting, and also since they register with professional nursing organizations but do not actively participate in the activities of these organizations, it may be appropriate to say that these nurses fall within the category of voting specialists. For more information please follow the below link: In the case of an Assemblyman, 85.3% said no; and 82.2% said no for that of a Member of Parliament. Journal of Community & Public Health Nursing, 2(4), 16. Professor Akwasi Kumi-Kyereme has been involved in various research projects and has published extensively in his major areas of research interest, namely sexual and reproductive health; social dimensions of health (including HIV, AIDS, and Tuberculosis); and healthcare financing. Additionally, studies show that nurses are not given sufficient support to generate the evidence needed to influence healthcare policy. Qualitative, constant-comparative data analysis was used for this study. Political involvement encompasses being knowledgeable about issues, laws, and health policy. Table 4. More nurses should be inspired and helped to become active politically. Males were slightly greater in number than females. As the largest group of healthcare providers, nurses are in a unique and very powerful position to serve as advocates for patients, communities, and the nursing profession, by leveraging their numbers to exert influence on healthcare policies (Avolio, 2014; Vandenhouten et al., 2011). Healthcare Finance Is Essential to Nurses at MC Online J Korean Acad Nurs. Background Characteristics of Respondents. :10.4172/2471-9846.1000142, Avolio, C. D. (2014). We are the largest medical profession, so we can do it. He has supervised numerous research projects at the undergraduate, post-graduate, and doctoral levels, and provided supervisory guidance for the study reported in this article, from the conceptual stages to its very final stages. Health Care Policy: The Nurse's Crucial Role Influencing Health Care in the Legislative Arena | OJIN: The Online Whether youre looking to get your pre-licensure degree or taking the next step in your career, the Get your free access to the exclusive newsletter of, https://www.emedevents.com/online-cme-courses/webcasts/oxygen-therapy-what-you-need-to-know-to-get-it-right-for-your-patients, https://www.emedevents.com/online-cme-courses/others/nursing-immunity-and-the-environment-oahu, https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/aesthetic-medicine-training-step-1-by-american-board-of-aesthetic-medicine-abam-mar-01-03-2019, https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/palm-springs-oasis-in-the-desert-2019-encore-symposium, https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/palm-springs-encore-cpc-review-2019, https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/taste-of-new-orleans-2019-encore-symposium, https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/survival-skills-for-today-s-gynecologist-2019, https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/maternal-fetal-imaging-2019-1, https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/complex-cardiovascular-catheter-therapeutics-advanced-endovascular-and-coronary-intervention-global-summit-2019, Hurricane Ians Impact: Working the Frontline Before and After a Natural Disaster, Palliative Care May Reduce Pain Disparities in Sickle Cell Disease, Choosing Genetic Testing: The Science and Patient Experience, Recognizing stroke symptoms via telephone triage, An integrative approach to healing the overworked, weary, or traumatized nurse, Nurses and doctors as diplomats in the COVID culture wars, Osteoporosis awareness: Be the patients advocate, Its never too late: Tales from a second-career nurse, The double life of a RN and NFL Cheerleader - 1-on-1 with Philadelphia Eagles Gabriela Bren, Realizing Our Potential as Psych NPs When Treating the Adult Schizophrenia Community. 2022 Jan-Mar;48(1):116-124. doi: 10.12865/CHSJ.48.01.17. Nurse leaders need to be actively involved in the debate over appropriate technology and resources. Previous studies about nurse participation in political activities have also reported high voter turn-outs among the nursing population (Ahoya, Abhichartibuttra, & Wichaikhum, 2016; Avolio, 2014). Ghana City Tamale. He worked as a clinical nurse for four years at the Tamale Teaching Hospital before beginning his teaching career, which has included teaching at the Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Kpembe, for four years, and also at the Midwifery Training College, Gushegu. Political involvement in nursing--politics, ethics, and strategic action. 61(1), 1-2. This situation is not peculiar to Ghana. More nurses should be inspired and helped to become active politically. Consistent with the present study, Avolio (2014), in a study of Canadian nurses, reported that only 11.4% of nurses in her study had ever written a letter about health or a nursing issue for publication in a newspaper. Independent Samples T-test for Gender, Practice Area, and Political Participation, Practice area and political participation. Strategies for involvement include political awareness, incorporation of course/program expectations on both undergraduate and graduate levels and teamwork. Good information.There are some Conferences happening in which medical specialty would be Nursing and here is one of those conferences. IFES Election Guide: Country of Ghana. Going, going, gone: nurses in policy-making positions at WHO. A similar trend of passive participation was observed among participants in terms of organizational participation A similar trend of passive participation was observed among participants in terms of organizational participation, that is nurses level of engagement within nursing organizations. hi We surveyed practicing nurses on their current knowledge about health policy advocacy, current and desired involvement in health Nurs Sci Q. Health reform has become largely polarized along political and partisan lines (Keepnews, 2012). All rights reserved. : 10.1177/1527154411425189, Whitehead, D. (2010). This piece was developed in collaboration with one or more of our writers. Nurses have a valuable hands-on perspective on patient care, staffing ratios, and how the healthcare system affects patients' lives. Professor Akwasi Kumi-Kyereme is an Associate Professor at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Aa a new nurse, it is already overwhelming in trying to work and learn as a new nurse, that I would honestly not want to become involved in politics. Some nurses might believe they don't have the time or energy to devote to political advocacy, while others might believe they don't have the skills or background necessary to be successful advocates. Start with simple methods to participate in policy engagement. Additionally, the two training schools did not have institutional review boards, but their academic boards reviewed the proposal and gave verbal approval to conduct the study. Hi, Reston, Virginia: Upper Saddle River. Nurses must be seen and heard in health policy debates. All too often, nurses become frustrated by policies affecting nursing practice, particularly when those policies are written by individuals with limited healthcare knowledge and experience. Unable to load your collection due to an error, Unable to load your delegates due to an error. : 10.1155/2016/3975634, ORourke, N. C., Crawford, S. L., Morris, N. S., & Pulcini, J. He is the current Convocation Representative (Professorial) on the University of Cape Coast Council and a member of a number of professional associations. Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. Thank you for sharing your perspective on the many ways nurses can affect policies and politics. doi: 10.1590/1518-8345.1152.2670. This descriptive, cross-sectional study design included a survey of nurses. Is there a nurse in the House? In spite of these calls for nurses to be politically active, studies continue to report low levels of political participation among nurses (Ahoya, Abhichartibuttra, & Wichaikhum, 2016; Avolio, 2014; ORourke et al., 2017; Vandenhouten et al., 2011). Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies NurseJournal.org is an advertising-supported site. They bring more energy, more ideas, and more ingenuity to the nursing profession. It was Kaiser-Permanente to profit Nixons campaign financier, Edgar Kaiser. Nurses as the majority of the health care workforce help in the health systems strengthening. A primary goal was to grow the number of nurses with baccalaureate degrees. Nurses' political involvement: Responsibility versus privilege. Why Policy Engagement Is the Next Big Nursing Trend Nurses must have a seat at the decision-making table to ensure that policy decisions, made by legislatures without healthcare experience, are patient and staff-centered. More than 80% of the inhabitants are Dagdombas. Nurse Knowledge and Engagement in Health Policy Making - PubMed
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