Health Policy Of Heart Disease And Stroke

The American Health Care system needs to be constantly improved to keep up with the demands of America’s health care system. In order for the American Health Care system to improve policies must be constantly reviewed. Congress still plays a powerful role in public policy making (Morone, Litman, & Robins, 2008). A health care policy is put in place to reach a desired health outcome, which may have a meaningful effect on people. People in position of authority advocates for a new policy for the group they have special interest in helping. The Health care system is formed by the health care policy making process (Abood, 2007). There are public, institutional, and business policies related to health care developed by hospitals, accrediting organizations, or managed care organizations (Abood, 2007). A policy is implemented to improve the health among people in the United States. Some policies

In order to first start a policy process, the problem for which a policy is to be created must be identified and the policy holding a solution to the problem. Researchers and stakeholders will investigate the problem to identify if the policy will reach the policy making agenda. Policies must be to improve society’s health and wellbeing. In the United States (U.S.) public health related issues that require a formulation of a new policy and come from local, state, or federal legislations which ruling govern the provision of health care services and regulations. In this

(2001). The Formulation of Health Policy by the Three Branches of Government. Social Policy and Policymaking by the Branches of Government and the Public-at-Large. doi:10.7312/stei11682-014

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death and disability in the United States among adults. More than one-half of all deaths were caused by heart disease, cancer or

“The purpose of public policy is to direct problems to government and secure government’s response, while politics is the use of influence to direct the responses toward goals” (Milstead, 2013, p. 12). Policies are used as guidelines to reach a common goal. In healthcare, policies can affect and have an impact on how we provide care for our patients’. For this reason, it is important for nurses to be knowledgeable and involved in important healthcare decisions. “Knowledgeable nurses in advanced practice must demonstrate their commitment to action by being a part of relevant decisions that will ensure the delivery of quality health care by appropriate providers in a cost-effective manner” (Milstead, 2013, p. 1).

United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Healthy People 2020 (2018) recognizes cardiovascular disease as one of the most widespread and costly health problems in the United States, accounting approximately $320 billion in health care expenditures and related expenses annually. Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) identifies prevention of cardiovascular disease as one of the priorities and includes an objective “to increase overall cardiovascular health and quality of life for US population." (HHS, Healthy People 2020, 2018)

The health of the American people lags behind those from other developed countries. Federal public health agencies have a wide range of responsibilities and functions which includes public health research, funding, and oversight of direct healthcare providers. It has been a long time since changes have been made to the way the federal government structures its health care roles and programs outside of Medicare and Medicaid (Trust, 2013). With healthcare reform on the horizon now is the time to invest time and money in prevention, not medicine, making it a top priority to improve health and prevent disease. Funding efforts at all levels of the public health continuum need to focus on developing programs aimed at such leading initiatives

Health policies, health determinants and health are all categories that are intertwined with one another. As technology becomes more advanced within the health industry, society’s perception on healthcare may change for the better or for the worst. And with the new technology, new policies arise.

Even though the United States does not contain a central controlled system of health care, the federal, state and local governments have all been involved in health care and health policy. A public health policy is an “authoritative decision made in the legislative, executive and judicial that is intended to influence the actions, behaviors, or decisions of

Healthcare policy is dynamic and ever changing, especially in our society today with the many changes in government control, insurance company influence, and actual delivery of healthcare services. In order to corral our healthcare system and ensure that there is quality control amongst all populations, health policies must be put in place. Health policy is defined as many things due to its dynamic nature but the assigned text expresses a definition that encompasses all aspects of what health policy is for us today, “Authoritative decisions made in the legislative, executive, or judicial branches of government that are intended to direct or influence that actions, behaviors, or decisions of others”(Longest, p. 5, (2010)). Among the many reasons why health policy is pertinent to our society an aspect of health policy that I feel is most important is in regards to public health practices. Health policy is the reason why populations that whom otherwise would not receive the absolute needed healthcare, actually get to receive healthcare. The financial aspect of healthcare is quite steep and more often than not healthcare services are not sought out by populations because they cannot afford to do so. With health policy the policymakers allow for the proper and equal disbursement of goods and services to ensure that everyone is remaining healthy no matter what

Individuals from Jersey City aged 65 years and older are more likely to die from heart diseases such as heart attacks, stroke and hypertension in comparison to all New Jersey residents ("Stats," 2013). These are the leading cause of death in the United States that can be prevented by controlling or preventing modifiable risk factors such as high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, poor diet and physical inactivity, overweight and obesity ("Healthy People," n.d.). Heart diseases are among of the many known health problems that are needed to be addressed in the Jersey City community ("Stats," 2013). Healthy people 2020 goal is to prevent, detect and treat the risk factors that are associated with heart attack and stroke ("Healthy People," n.d.). And by early detection, heart diseases can be treated and repeated cardiovascular events can be prevented ("Healthy People," n.d.).

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and is responsible for 17% of the national health expenditure (Heidenreich et al., 2011). In 1985, cardiovascular disease accounted for 10% of the gross domestic product. However, this number increased to 15% in 2008. Meanwhile, the expenses related to cardiovascular disease have increased

Public health promotes healthy living for each community through epidemiology. Disease prevention and control is the common goal of epidemiology, nursing practice, and public health. “Epidemiology is the study of the population in order to monitor the health of the population, understand the determinants of health and disease in the community, and investigate and evaluate interventions to prevent disease and maintain health” (Stanhope & Lancaster. 2008). Epidemiologists have developed many parameters to slow the spread of disease. For example, cardiovascular disease including hypertension, coronary heart disease, and

It is important to gather data regarding the risk, number or people affected and morality pertaining to cardiovascular disease. Different surveillance methods are used to obtain reporting information regarding CVD. This information is beneficial to physicians, health care providers, and people in the community. It provides data that can be used to establish prevalence in different categories. It provides evidence and allows for issues to be prioritized. This is extremely important because different nations, states, counties, and cities are able to factors pertinent to their areas. The United States uses the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to gather information about the health and nutritional status from households of different people (CDC Centters for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.). National health and nutrition examination survey). The NHANES combines information from completed surveys and physical examinations of people. This data is used to identify make changes and implement policies. It is also used to identify ways to improve the health care of the entire population. Baselines regarding different diseases are established using this information on a national level. The state of Ohio uses self reporting to obtain the prevalence of heart disease (Healthy Ohio, n.d). They use a Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to obtain this information about their residents. This information will allow programs to be implemented to

The program should be applied to different levels of preventions based on short term or long term needs in the community. Primary prevention approach is required to promote and maximize health and wellness in the community before injury or illness occurs (Vollman et al., 2017). Therefore, the program focuses its attention on providing the community with information on cardiovascular health, nutrition, exercise and stress management (Harkness & DeMarco, 2012). The first idea for primary intervention is providing the community with free blood pressuring and heart rate screenings to recognize the population in risk. The information about this part will be provided to the community from different sources such as news, healthcare facilities, schools, community association, and churches. The monitoring will be done through the family physicians, nurses and different stands that will be set up in different locations of the community such as pharmacies, shopping malls, churches and health facilities. All the resident of age forty-five