Policy Analysis: Instructions
As stated in the Essentials, healthcare policy can facilitate or hinder healthcare delivery, and
legislation directly affects the environment in which advanced practice nurses (APN) practice
(AACN, 2021). APNs are called to participate in the legislative process, influencing policy
development to better meet the needs of providers and care recipients. Ultimately, MSN and
DNP education have two outcomes related to healthcare policy and advocacy: (a) examine and
evaluate the policy process and (b) engage in political activism as it relates to ensuring
healthcare policy reduces disparities, improves access and quality, reduces costs, and
promotes equity.
This assignment focuses on the student’s ability to understand and evaluate policy processes
and make decisions on whether certain policies achieve the goals outlined above. From there,
graduates can transform this knowledge into political activism. Utilizing this strategy, graduates
can ensure that they have a seat at the table when decisions about their practice and clients are
being made.
The following steps outline what you need to accomplish for this assignment. Additional
questions are welcome and should be posted in the Course Q&A.
Step 1: Bill Selection. Choose a federal-level healthcare bill that addresses a
healthcare-related problem of your choosing. You must choose a federal
bill from the 117th Congress (Jan. 3, 2021 to Jan. 2023). The bill must still
be pending. You may not select a bill that has already passed both the
Senate and the House or one that is waiting on signature from President.
You may use a bill that has only passed one of the congressional branches
—either the House or the Senate, but not both. It is recommended that you
use congress.gov, senate.gov, house.gov, legiscan.com, or the Thomas
Library of Congress.
Step 2: Problem Identification. Clearly and specifically identify the problem or
issue that needs to be addressed.
In no more than 2 paragraphs, synthesize current data describing the state
of the problem. This section should describe the (a) burden: how many
people it affects), (b) frequency: how often it occurs, (c) severity: how
serious of a problem is it, and (d) scope: the range of outcomes it affects.1
Support this section with relevant facts, figures, statistics, and costs.
Step 3: Purpose Statement: Explain the idea of law as a social determinant of
health. Then, succinctly state the purpose of your analysis, answering the
following questions: What is the relevance of your work, and what do you
intend to achieve in this analysis?
Step 4: Social Determinants of Health. Thoroughly explain the relationship
between your chosen issue and the following social determinants of
health (SDOH). Each SDOH should be developed and supported
separately and include facts, numbers, figures, research, and statistics to
support your statements. Specific aspects of the below SDOH and their
connection to your issue should be included.
A. Healthcare Access and Quality
B. Education Access and Quality
C. Social and Community Context
D. Socioeconomic Status
E. Neighborhood and Built Environment
Step 5: Impact. Discuss the impact of the issue on the following factors. These
should also be supported with relevant facts, numbers, figures, research,
and statistics. In your ethical section, connect your discussion to a
particular ethical factor or theory that is relevant to your topic.
A. The National Economy
B. The Healthcare System
C. Ethics
Step 6: Current Legislation. Identify legislation currently in place to address the
issue and the strategies it utilizes. Provide a summary gap analysis that
discusses the present legislation’s congruency (or incongruence) with
current evidence, and describes how or why the legislation is inadequate
to reach the intended goals.
Step 7: Policy Recommendation: Introduce your policy recommendation using
its bill number and title (if titled). Summarize its purpose and how it
intends to achieve the intended goals. Discuss how it addresses the
concerns identified in your above gap analysis. Support this section with
evidence. Include a working link to your bill.
Step 8: Criteria for Evaluation. This section is the central aspect of this
assignment and requires you to use evidence to analyze the
effectiveness, efficiency, and equity (three Es) of the bill you selected as
described below:
A. Effectiveness: Synthesize current evidence (research data)
illustrating how the specific strategies proposed in the bill are effective
at solving the chosen problem. Discuss the immediate, short, and long
term outcomes that are achievable following the implementation of
this bill.
B. Efficiency: Discuss how the specific strategies in the bill are efficient.
Use current evidence to illustrate the concepts of cost versus benefit
and/or cost versus effectiveness. Numerical figures should be used in
the illustration.
C. Equity: Discuss how the specific strategies in the bill have been
shown to impact health disparities and inequities. Also consider
whether implementation of the bill itself is equitable. Identify any
concerns about the fairness of cost sharing or burden of
implementation.
Specific examples of strategies from your bill should be included in each
section above. The ability to perform objective analysis is key to quality policy
evaluation. The conclusions presented in this section should be the result of
synthesizing research findings from the literature. It is not meant to reflect
your opinion. The bill itself cannot be used for support for any of the three Es.
Step 9: PESTEL Analysis. Use the provided table to identify political, economic,
social, technological, environmental, and legal factors impacting the
implementation or success of your chosen bill. Address 1-2 bulleted
statements per factor. These may be facilitating or hindering factors.
[ONLY DO THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL FACTORS]
Step 10: Recommendation and Modifications. Make a statement of
recommendation for your chosen bill. Identify the changes needed to
improve the bill’s ability to address the healthcare issue. For example,
are there changes needed to make the bill more effective, more
efficient, or more equitable? You may consider other types of
modifications here as well. Modifications must address reason the
change is needed and be supported.
Step 11: Reference List. There should be a minimum of 10 references
published within the last 5 years on your list. The majority must be peerreviewed references. Additional references types may include current
events, information from professional organization sites, and relevant
publications from corporation websites. In-text citations and reference
list entries should be presented in APA format.
Additional Notes:
• Please use the template provided to you in the Required Resources for organization.
Within your paragraphs, APA is expected as applicable—grammar, spelling, citations,
number format, etc—with the exception of spacing (see below).
• The template uses 1.5 (not double) line spacing and 11-point font. This will help
with the readability of your assignment in the outline format and should not be
changed.
• No title page is required. A minimum of ten (10) references, the majority of which
should peer reviewed, are required. References should be timely: published within the
previous five (5) years.
Submission Instructions: The assignment is to be submitted using the template provided as a
single Word document or PDF to the appropriate assignment area. Your work will automatically
be submitted to turnitin.com upon submission to the course.
1Centers for Disease Control. (2015). CDC’s policy analytical framework. https://www.cdc.gov/
policy/analysis/process/analysis.html#problem