Running head: ANALYSIS OF A U.S.

HEALTH CARE POLICY 1

Analysis of a U.S. Health Care Policy

Emily A. Ramsland

Grand Canyon University: NSG-436

14 July 2019
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Analysis of a U.S. Health Care Policy

Tuberculosis claims the life of many individuals every day. The aim of prevention and

elimination of Tuberculosis is continuously progressing and will be evaluated in this paper. For

the purpose of this assignment, my thesis is: This paper will provide a summary of a Health Care

Policy, identify major stakeholders involved, consider the positive and negative aspects, the

impact on nursing care and finally a proposed change for improvement.

Summary of Health Care Policy

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that is transferred throughout the air. Health care

workers are at an increased risk of contracting Tuberculosis when caring for their patients who

may be contaminated with it. The policy of choice is called The Global Prevention and

Elimination of Tuberculosis Among Health Care Workers. This policy aims to prevent

Tuberculosis as well as to detect it early in individuals that do contract it. In addition, this poly

aims to better educate nurses and health care workers in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment

of Tuberculosis. This will allow for a safer environment for everyone and it will hopefully lower

the public health morbidity and mortality rates from Tuberculosis (American Public Health

Association, 2018).

Major Stakeholders

In the Global Prevention and Elimination of Tuberculosis Among Health Care Workers

Policy, the major stakeholders include any health care worker, the patients, the insurance

companies, as well as the government (American Public Health Association, 2018). The health

care workers are considered a stakeholder in this policy because they must be able to effectively

diagnose and treat Tuberculosis, if not the aim of prevention and elimination of the disease will

never come to fruition. The patients are critical stakeholders because they must be informed of
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the disease in order to prevent it and in order to know when to seek treatment. If patients were

not informed about Tuberculosis, they will not know how to prevent it and the disease will then

continue to spread and cause many others to be exposed. Insurance companies can prevent many

people from seeking treatment because of the price of medical care. Without a correct diagnosis

and correct treatment plan, Tuberculosis will continue to be spread from person to person. The

government regulates healthcare for many individuals and they are largely involved in

controlling infectious diseases and preventing illnesses. In addition, the government may also be

a source for funding the policy and its implementation. Each stakeholder plays a vital role in the

process of eliminating and preventing tuberculosis (St. Joseph’s University, 2011).

Positive and Negative Aspects

Many healthcare professionals feel underequipped to care for patients with Tuberculosis

and prevent the spread to any of the other patients. Through the implementation of this policy,

health care workers will be further trained in infection control measures, isolation precaution

information, as well as a primary prevention method for Tuberculosis. Through these teachings,

health care workers will be able to implement what they have been taught and they will be a

driving factor in reducing the transmission of Tuberculosis which will lead to its elimination in

the United States. Furthermore, this policy would have a positive aspect of lowering the

mortality and morbidity of the infectious disease and it will help to lead to the eradication of

Tuberculosis (American Public Health Association, 2018).

Along with every beneficial and successful policy come setbacks and barriers. For this

policy, a large setback will be the cost required to prevent and eliminate Tuberculosis. This is

especially relevant in underprivileged Country where many do not have quick access to

healthcare. The opposing argument is that it will cost an incredible amount of money and the
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outcome may not be what is expected. In addition to funding, training that is specialized for

health care workers regarding the isolation precautions for Tuberculosis is said to be

unnecessary. It was identified that many individuals with latent or active Tuberculosis are from

the immigrant population, of which will never make it to a health care worker due to their legal

status. Furthermore, it would be unbeneficial to invest money and time into teaching the health

care workers when much of the population with Tuberculosis will never come into a facility for

treatment (American Public Health Association, 2018).

Impact on Nursing Care

The implementation of this policy would better equip nurses in caring for patients with

Tuberculosis and contributing to the prevention of the spread of Tuberculosis to the other

patients. Through the additional teaching that would be provided regarding Tuberculosis,

isolation precautions, and disease prevention, nurses will be able to be advocates for their

patients in contributing to the diagnosis and the treatment. This will also contribute to the nurse’s

patient teaching on how to prevent Tuberculosis and when to seek treatment. For areas of the

world that are underprivileged and Tuberculosis is more rampant, teaching the communities how

to prevent the spread and how to treat it, this infectious disease will be further prevented and

hopefully soon eliminated. Ideally, the government would pay for the teaching classes to the

nurses and the nurses would then teach their patients as part of their day-to-day shift as a nurse.

This policy will allow nurses to practice effective and equitable delivery of care to every patient

and community (American Public Health Association, 2018).

Proposed Change

In addition to the proposed changes for the prevention and elimination of Tuberculosis, a

proposed change is to begin giving the Tuberculosis vaccine in the United States more regularly.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018), the only contraindications

for the tuberculosis vaccine include immunosuppression and pregnancy. Furthermore, the

vaccine is usually not recommended simply because the prevalence of Tuberculosis in the United

States is low. However, if everyone got the vaccine, which has already been created and has had

great results, the incidences of Tuberculosis would drop even lower. The preventative treatment

is available, it should be used regularly to prevent all cases of Tuberculosis regardless of

location.

Conclusion

Tuberculosis is a tragic infectious disease and through this policy, prevention and

elimination of the disease can rapidly progress. Furthermore, the United States has the resources

to equip nurses and health care workers in controlling the transmission of the disease. In

addition, there is a vaccine available in the United States to prevent Tuberculosis, however, its

use is not highly encouraged, which ought to be changed in the future of disease prevention. This

paper provided a summary of a Health Care Policy, it identified major stakeholders involved, it

considered the positive and negative aspects, the impact on nursing care and finally it proposed a

change for the improvement of the policy.

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References

American Public Health Association. (2018). The global prevention and elimination of tuberculosis

among health workers. Retrieved from https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-

health-policy-statements/policy-database/2019/01/28/global-prevention-and-elimination-of-

tuberculosis

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Fact sheets: BCG vaccine. Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/prevention/bcg.htm

St. Joseph’s University. (2011). Health care reform: Duties and responsibilities of stakeholders.

Retrieved from https://sites.sju.edu/icb/health-care-reform-duties-and-responsibilities-of-the-

stakeholders/