Assignment Prompt & Instructions
There are 2 parts to this assessment:
– Part 1: Choose a health care law or policy at the state or national level and write a letter of advocacy to a state or federal legislator in support of the health care law or policy. You are not required to send this letter to the legislator.
– Part 2: Research a community agency of your choice. Analyze current community needs specific to the prevention of communicable diseases and develop a teaching plan with and for your selected patient population. There are several sub-parts within Part 2.
#### **Part 1: Advocacy Letter**
##### **Part 1a: Research**
**Read** the [Writing Letters to Elected Officials](https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/advocacy/direct-action/letters-to-elected-officials/main) page on the Community Toolbox website ( [https://ctb.ku.edu/en](https://ctb.ku.edu/en)). **Work** onsite with a public health or community agency representative who is employed for an organization in your state that can affect key public health issues to complete Part 1a. **Identify** 1 global health care issue that impacts health populations in your zip code through law or policy at the state or national level. Ensure it is one that it is crucial that continued funding be approved. You can find this information by:
– Visiting the [Healthy People 2030](https://health.gov/healthypeople) website to identify a health care issue
– Searching the [California Legislative Information](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/) or [Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/) websites to determine if there is pending action or established policy supporting the identified health care issue
**Research** the health care law or policy to determine:
– The main purpose of the selected health care law or policy
– The main population affected by this health care law or policy
– How this health care law or policy affects the population it is intended to serve
– The impact of current domestic and global issues on this health care law or policy
**Investigate** the need for advocacy (i.e., support of and strategic approach toward supporting) for the health care issue you selected. To do this, use data from the community health needs assessment (CHNA) report from a public hospital or health facility in your zip code. **Identify** 1 state or federal legislator representing your selected zip code. To do this, search by address to identify your legislators using the resources on the [Members](https://www.assembly.ca.gov/assemblymembers?order=field_member_district&sort=asc) page on the California State Assembly website or the [Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/members?q=%7B%22congress%22%3A118%7D) website. **Determine** the selected legislator’s level of support for your selected health care issue in your community. If necessary, call the legislator’s office and ask an aide what actions are being taken on behalf of the community on that issue.
##### **Part 1b: Advocacy Letter Writing**
**Write** a concise, 350-word letter of advocacy to the legislator on behalf of your organization that you collaborated with in Part 1a regarding the health care issue. Use the format described on the Writing Letters to Elected Officials page on the Community Toolbox website and do the following in your letter:
– Acknowledge the legislator.
– Write a compelling argument(s) about the importance of the health care issue in the local community and the need for advocacy.
– Provide data supporting your proposed strategy to address the health care issue.
– Establish yourself as a professional ally to the legislator in regard to the health care issue.
**Include** a reference page with information for the CHNA report, legislative research, and legislator’s webpage. **Format** citations and references according to APA guidelines. **Review** and **edit** your letter thoroughly. _Note:_ You do not need to send the letter to the legislator to meet the requirements of this assignment.
#### **Part 2: Clinical Activities – Community Health Assessment: Prevention of Communicable Disease Community Education**
In this part of the assessment, you will apply nursing knowledge to gain a holistic perspective of the risk of spread of communicable disease for the individual, family, or group that accesses care at an agency that focuses on meeting community needs (e.g., elder care, children’s day care, health department). The purpose of this portion of the assessment is to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to educate community members about the prevention of the spread of communicable disease. To do this, you will:
– Synthesize assessment data in the context of the specific agency and client situation.
– Work collaboratively with agency representatives to establish disease prevention strategies (e.g., teaching opportunities) for their clients.
– Assess the agency’s policies for the prevention of communicable diseases (e.g., handwashing and disinfection) and make recommendations for changes to existing policies, if necessary.
##### **Part 2a: Working With Clients/Patients From Your Local Community Agency**
**Conduct** a needs assessment with your selected patient population by discussing perceived health issues and needs with at least 5 members (i.e., individuals, families, groups, or a combination of these) from the selected community agency related to the prevention of communicable diseases. **Consider** the following questions after conducting the needs assessments **:**
– What health-related problems were identified (e.g., access to primary health care, access to medicines, opioid overdose, respiratory illness)?
– Of the health problems identified, what are the most immediate and pressing needs that can be addressed with readily available resources?
To answer the 2 questions listed above, **complete** the following:
– Apply SWOT analysis. To do this, assist at least 5 members from the patient population in identifying their strengths and weaknesses as related to primary prevention of the health problems identified. This is specifically in regard to the prevention of communicable disease. For example, to help the 5 members overcome their weaknesses, you could develop a list of local free clinics to refer them to, advise them to download GoodRx on their smartphone, provide them with information on the availability of naloxone and how to obtain it for free, tell them about vaccines for vaccine preventable diseases, and communicate to them the importance of masks, handwashing, social distancing. Note: The information obtained from this SWOT analysis will be analyzed and used to inform your teaching project that will be delivered to your patient population in Week 4.
– **Prepare** a 350-word summary of your patient population interactions. As you write your summary, ensure that you reflect on the clinical objective(s) for the week and discuss how you met the clinical objective(s).
**Format** your summary according to APA guidelines.
##### **Part 2b: Community Health Assessment – Prevention of Communicable Disease**
**Complete** the following as part of a conversation with an agency representative (ideally, the same agency you’ve been working with):
– Examine an agency’s policy that addresses the prevention of 1 communicable disease in their facility. Ideally, communicable diseases should also be a priority for the patient population (e.g., pneumonia in older adults or gastrointestinal illness in children).
– Conduct an organizational assessment that includes a SWOT analysis of the effectiveness of the agency in enforcing and/or implementing this policy and any related procedures. Include in your SWOT analysis any difficulties the agency has identified in enforcing their policy with their clients.
**Identify** an appropriate primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention intervention that your chosen agency might use to strengthen the policy and related procedures to prevent the spread of communicable disease (e.g., handwashing and other health information signs, availability of hand sanitizer, and educational pamphlets). Based upon your findings, including the patient population’s identified health needs, **communicate** the proposed modifications to or the development of new policy to the agency. Use national patient safety resources, initiatives, and regulations to inform your recommendations to the agency. **Prepare** a 400-word summary that includes:
– Appropriate primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention intervention that your chosen agency might use to strengthen the existing policy
– Proposed modifications to the agency policy or addition of a new policy
**Format** your summary and any citations and references for any sources according to APA guidelines.