Nurses' Influence on Health Policy

Abstract

Background: Nursing, being a multidimensional, interactive, interdisciplinary, and complex profession, the need for Health policies is a fact and very essential. This is because health policy affects the nursing profession and healthcare in general; therefore, nurses are expected to identify the issues deliberately and work with other decision makers to initiate, influence, develop and advance existing health care policies to achieve quality provision, accessibility and cost-effective care to improve the quality of life and welfare of society. Purpose: To determine the factors influencing nursing policy and make necessary recommendations for nurses to embrace decisions regarding policy development and implementation. Methods: Various databases and internet engines were searched to find all related information about the concept. Literature was searched in PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and phrases including the following key words were used: "nurse policy", "politics", "health policy", "nurses influence on policy making/politics/health policy", "nurses challenges in policy making/politics/policy", and "importance of nursing policy making/politics/health policy"; 18 articles published from January 2001 to May 2022 were included. Results: Based on the analysis undertaken, nurses' policy influence is nurses' ability to influence decisions and affairs related to health through political knowledge, effective communication, and collaboration with other members of the health team, which results in the improvement of nurses' job environment and increasing patient outcomes. It was also noted that nurses' involvement in policy making has not improved over time majority of the authors revolve around the following to act as barriers to health policy development: lack of involvement; lack of knowledge and skills; negative image of nursing; lack of enabling structures; and lack of resources. Conclusion: In order for the nurses to shape their present and future profession, they need to be active rather than passive agents coming out to influence and take a lead in policy development, Utilization of health policy in nursing discipline, enables growth of a career giving it a guiding and a driving force, where the professional body of workforce (nurses) are directed towards achieving their mission and vision through their set course values and believes, therefore nurse leaders have a key role in mentoring, supporting and developing future nurse policy makers.