Overview
Some nurses may be hesitant to get involved with policy evaluation. The preference may be to focus on the care and well-being of their patients; some nurses may feel ill-equipped to enter the realm of policy and political activities. However, as you have examined previously, who better to advocate for patients and effective programs and polices than nurses? Already patient advocates in interactions with doctors and leadership, why not with government and regulatory agencies?
In this Discussion, you will reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation.
To Prepare:
- In the Module 4 Discussion, you considered how professional nurses can become involved in policy-making.
- Review the Resources and reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation.
Select an existing healthcare program or policy evaluation or choose one of interest to you.
Review community, state, or federal policy evaluation and reflect on the criteria used to measure the effectiveness of the program or policy described.
Post an evaluation topic and a brief description of the evaluation. Discuss how social determinants impact this issue
IN ADDITION, PLEASE RESPOND THROUGHOULY TO THESE TWO POSTS INCLUDE TWO REFERENCES FOR EACH
DISCUSSION # 1 : An important part of the nursing process is evaluation. To know if an intervention improves a patient's condition, or make it worse, evaluation is needed. The same is with healthcare programs and policies. Healthcare program and policy evaluation assesses the effectiveness of social interventions, identifies opportunities for improvement, and provides a rationale for allocating resources (Short, N. M., 2021).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides an evaluation framework for healthcare professionals to use when evaluating programs for public health. Its framework consists of three cross-cutting actions that aim to advance health equity, engage collaboratively, and learn from and use insights (CDC, 2024). It is composed of five evaluation standards with a focus on reliability and utility, rigor, independence and objectivity, transparency and ethics (CDC, 2024). Their program evaluation process also consists of six key steps: Assess the context, describe the program, focus the evaluation question and design, gather credible evidence, generate and support conclusions, and act on findings (CDC, 2024).
Evaluation is critical in addressing social determinants of health by making sure programs are meeting their goals and objectives (Rural Health Information Hub, 2020). Nurses have a unique ability to evaluate interventions and advocate for patients. Nurses are needed to participate in healthcare programs and policy evaluation.
DISCUSSION 2: The goal of the federal aid program known as SNAP is to decrease food insecurity by giving low-income people and families money to buy groceries. According to Hennepin County (2025), “The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps people with low income to buy the food they need for sound nutrition and well-balanced meals.” Metrics including participation rates decreases in food insecurity, enhancements in dietary quality, and economic effects like declining poverty rates are the main emphasis of SNAP evaluation. Evaluators use surveys such as the USDA Household Food Security Survey Module to ascertain if participants consistently have access to adequate food. According to USDA (2025), “USDA’s measurement of food insecurity provides some information about the economic and social contexts that may lead to hunger but does not assess the extent to which hunger ensues.” One social determinant that impacts SNAP is income. Even with SNAP assistance, low-income families may face financial obstacles when purchasing nutritious food. Carlson (2022) states, “In a typical month of 2021, SNAP helped about 41.5 million low-income Americans afford a nutritious diet.” Other social determinants are education and geographic location.
READINGS:
- Short, N. M. (2019). Milstead's health policy and politics: A nurse's guide (7th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
- Chapter 8, “Health Policy and Social Program Evaluation” (pp. 177–192)
- Glasgow, R. E., Lichtenstein, E., & Marcus, A. C. (2003). Why don’t we see more translation of health promotion research to practice? Rethinking the efficacy-to-effectiveness transition
- Links to an external site.
- . American Journal of Public Health, 93(8), 1261–1267.
- Shiramizu, B., Shambaugh, V., Petrovich, H., Seto, T. B., Ho, T., Mokuau, N., & Hedges, J. R. (2016). Leading by success: Impact of a clinical and translational research infrastructure program to address health inequities
- Links to an external site.
- . Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 4(5), 983–991.
- Williams, J. K., & Anderson, C. M. (2018). Omics research ethics considerations
- Links to an external site.
- . Nursing Outlook, 66(4), 386–393.