Trends in Healthcare Policy Essay Paper

Using a Health Policy Model to Develop a Change in Policy to Improve the Public’s Health
In a Microsoft Word document of 2-3 pages formatted in APA style, you will focus on the methods to develop a change in policy to improve the public’s health by using a health policy model.

Suppose you want to initiate a policy of taxing sugared sodas/pop/beverages in your community. In your paper, address each of the following criteria:

Use the Longest’s policy cycle model to structure your proposed policy.
What arguments would you use to make the case for the policy?
What argument(s) would your opponents make?
How would you go about getting buy-in for your proposed policy?
What stakeholder groups need to be involved in promoting your policy?
On a separate reference page, cite all sources using APA format. Please note that the title and reference pages should not be included in the total page count of your paper. Trends in Healthcare Policy Essay Paper

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Trends in Healthcare Policy

Healthcare policy refers to the actions, plans and decisions undertaken within a community/society to achieve specific goals. A well-structured policy defines a health care vision for the future while establishing points of reference and targets for the short-term and medium-term. In addition, a policy outlines the expected roles of different stakeholders and priorities while informing them and building consensus (Porche, 2019). The present paper presents a policy initiative to tax sugared sodas/pop/beverages in the community.

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Use the Longest’s policy cycle model to structure your proposed policy.

Longest policy cycle model considers policy making as an interdependent process with three phases. The first phase is the policy formulation that identifies the need for the proposed policy based on an existing health concern. The problem is that the sugared drinks are associated with high incidences of obesity. A possible solution is to control the availability of sugared drinks. A politically acceptable solution is to tax sugared drinks so that they are higher priced to discourage purchases while the collected taxes used in obesity programs to counter the effects of these drinks. The second phase is policy implementation where the proposed solution is turned into a rule through legislative processes with the rule being perceived as the policy. The third phase is policy modification whereby the policy is evaluated in operation and shortcomings identified then changes made at the first and second phases to present a more acceptable policy with fewer shortcomings (Porche, 2019).

What arguments would you use to make the case for the policy?

There are three arguments that can be made for the policy. Firstly, the consumption of sugared drinks is associated with obesity and overweight, and incomplete compensation for total energy. In the short-term, sugared drinks induce positive energy balance that causes weight gain. In the long-term, the weight gain turns into obesity as the positive emergency balance increases. Secondly, producers of sugared drinks are business persons who have heavily invested in their businesses and employ many people so that stopping the producing and sale of sugared drinks is unrealistic. Increasing taxes is a viable option as the taxes would be translated into higher prices of the sugared drinks so that consumers spend more on the drinks and are forced to purchase less of the drinks. Finally, collecting higher taxes from the sale of sugared drinks presents more money to help counter the negative effects of consuming sugared drinks, such as anti-obesity programs (Brownell & Walsh, 2018).

What argument(s) would your opponents make?

Opponents of the proposed policy would present the argument that the policy increases the costs of sugared drinks so that producers make fewer sales with implications for businesses in terms of number of people employed. If the public is forced to pay more for sugared drinks, there is a high possibility that they would purchase fewer drinks with a negative effect on the community’s economy (Brownell & Walsh, 2018).

How would you go about getting buy-in for your proposed policy?

Getting buy-in for the proposed policy would be achieved by presenting a cost-benefit analysis that shows the policy as presented more benefits and fewer costs. The cost of the policy is the possibility that the public would purchase fewer sugared drinks thereby reducing sales figures and causing produces to employ fewer people. However, it must be considered that the purchase behavior of sugared drinks makes this a low possibility so that purchase volumes are likely to remain the same. The benefits that would be derived from the policy is fewer sales so that lower volumes of sugared drinks are consumed. Also, the money collected from higher taxation can be used to fund anti-obesity programs (Brownell & Walsh, 2018).

What stakeholder groups need to be involved in promoting your policy?

Three stakeholder groups need to be involved in promoting the policy. Firstly, parents whose children are at higher risk of obesity and overweight from consuming sugared drinks as the policy offered opportunities for countermeasures. Secondly, medical experts who would leverage their knowledge to explore that links between sugared drinks and obesity. Finally, legislators who would explore the merits and demerits of the policy before turning it into a rule (Milstead, 2016).

References

Brownell, K., & Walsh, T. (Eds.) (2018). Eating Disorders and Obesity, Third Edition: A Comprehensive Handbook (3^rd ed.). The Guilford Press.

Milstead, J. (2016). Health Policy and Politics: A Nurses Guide (5^th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.

Porche, D. (2019). Health Policy: Application for Nurses and Other Healthcare Professionals. Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC. Trends in Healthcare Policy Essay Paper