High incidence of healthcare worker deaths from COVID-19
What policies, mandates, or guidelines need to be in place to protect healthcare workers from the risk of contracting COVID-19? A disproportionate percentage (62%) of those who contracted the virus and lost their lives were People of Color who worked in the healthcare sector. Fifty percent of those who died were physicians. Find a policy solution.
High Cost of Childbirth in the United States
Now that you have gotten to the root cause of the high cost of childbirth in the U.S., now try to explore what policy solutions are available to control cost. You may consider policies used in other countries for solutions.
High Black maternal and infant mortality rates
Now that you have identified the root cause or causes for high Black maternal and infant mortality rates in the US, consider the role of policy implementation might have in mitigating this health crisis. There are multiple approaches that could improve health outcomes for Black mothers and infants. Given the systemic nature of this issue, there could be limitations to what policy can or cannot achieve when activated.
1) IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM: What is the problem? – Provide a brief background of the healthcare issue. (one paragraph)
2) WHAT DOES THE SITUATION NEED? This is the equivalent of a “criterion” for solving the issue (federal oversight, municipal guidelines, structural reinforcement, FEMA funding, logistical, punitive measures, and inoculation). Consider what will happen if there is no effective policy intervention for the issue. (one paragraph)
3) What are TWO EXISTING POLICIES currently available to prevent this tragedy from happening again or improve future health outcomes? (use evidence-based information and policy/guidelines support). (the equivalent of 1 ½ pages)
Some birthing centers are bundling costs as a way to make childbirth more affordable. Some insurance and Medicaid programs cover Doula support to help pregnant women guide the healthcare system.
What kinds of policies will protect healthcare workers from exposure to COVID-19 and will keep them safe? Hospital vaccine mandates? Infection control mandated training? A livable wage for temporary or per diem workers who are at risk of exposure? Benefits that provide more sick time?
COVID-19 Vaccination policy: mandatory vaccines for seniors, healthcare workers, and at-risk populations, coordinated efforts between state and federal agencies, and the deployment of the National Guard.
To lower Black maternal and infant mortality rates, there are multiple policy approaches taking place: regulating insurance reimbursement based on health outcomes, hospital recruitment of OB/GYNs physicians and Physician Assistants who identify as Black or African American, mandatory anti-bias training of healthcare workers, de-stigmatizing Medicaid, expand Medicaid in rural areas to prevent hospital closures, greater healthcare coverage for midwives, doulas, and prenatal care.
4) What POLICY SOLUTION DO YOU RECOMMEND to prevent this healthcare disaster from happening again? Your policy recommendation could be one of the policies that you have described in section #3, or maybe you have a new idea that will be more effective. (the equivalent of half a page)
5) How would you EVALUATE the EFFECTIVENESS of what you recommended in section #4 to know if it’s working: if so, what are you going to measure for effectiveness? (a paragraph)
*****Use 7th edition APA style – cover page, brief introduction, body of paper, brief conclusion, and bibliography.
Use at least FIVE external sources beyond the materials provided
Writing must be clear and concise.
DO NOT USE QUOTES. Summarize and cite instead.
Body of paper: 4 pages.
Double-spaced, 12 pt font
Save document with your name in the title.
Tips for writing a short policy paper tips for writing a short policy paper
Some students have asked me how do you start writing a policy paper.
Never forget that you are writing a narrative about some healthcare crisis. You are telling me a story. So, read up on background information from local newspapers and media coverage. If some feature of the story sparks your attention, jot down what might be the issue: the generators were not up to code; or, there was a lack PPE and tests available to healthcare workers; or NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue was in a flood zone with no retainer wall at the time of Hurricane Sandy. Why were the generators, morgue, labs, and computer mainframes on the lower floors where they are exposed?
I probably would wait until the end to write my Intro and Conclusion. They are the hardest to write if you haven’t thought through your main ideas.
Step #2 exposes why solving this issue is so paramount. Without greater regulation of long-term care facilities, seniors will be vulnerable with no governing body to protect them. Or, the virus is a contagion that spreads through aerosol transmission, which means it is highly contagious if people don’t wear a mask and hand wash.
Each one of these ideas from your early exploration of the topic could spark your interest and could take you down a deep rabbit hole where you discover what kind of policy it covers, violates, or needs to be conceptualized.
Start on Step #3 and build your research evidence and then begin writing about it. Fill in the in-text citations as you go along (for fear of missing something later that needed to be cited). It’s kind of detailed. As undergraduates, you are expected to do the bulk of research before making claims. There is, however, nothing wrong with jotting down hunches as you build your evidence-based argument.
Step #4 This derives from the two approaches described and analyzed in Step #3, but it could be a new direction in thinking. Rapid Response Teams are a novel idea for not only environmental disasters like Hurricane Sandy but they could be applied to a nursing home under locked down from an outbreak. There is a shortage of physicians who identify as Black or African American. What if the universities and colleges encouraged more students who identify as Black or African American to study medicine?
Step #5 Thinking about your #4 recommendation, now how would you evaluate it? The frequency of positive testing for COVID-19 or the prevalence of healthcare workers infected in the workplace from rapid testing are just two approaches to evaluating policy.
