Promoting Civic Engagement Among Nurses
In the context of the 2020 election, healthcare stands as a pivotal concern for nurses. This comprehensive guide to promoting civic engagement outlines strategies for enhancing voter participation. Surprisingly, voting can contribute to better health, not just due to the extra steps taken to reach the polling place. Voting holds a profound influence on public health. To advance healthier communities, nurses and healthcare professionals can integrate civic engagement into patient care recommendations.
Ben Ruxin, the director of Civic Health Month, emphasizes the intricate relationship between civic health and physical health, highlighting that “civically healthy patients can use their vote to shape the issues that affect their health.” Furthermore, heightened levels of civic engagement correspond to improved health outcomes.
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Participating in elections concerning critical matters like affordable housing and healthcare can eventually yield improved living conditions, stronger communities, and enhanced overall health.
While voting contributes to long-term, widespread benefits in creating healthier communities, healthcare practitioners may also recognize immediate, pressing concerns that motivate their participation in civic engagement. The upcoming election holds substantial significance for healthcare, encompassing matters such as COVID-19 management, opioid regulation, and the broader framework of the healthcare system.
For those interested in engaging in civic education initiatives, the recent surge in efforts to encourage voting within the healthcare realm offers opportunities. This guide delves into methods nurses can adopt to become involved in campaigns advocating for voting, voter registration, healthcare advocacy, and other forms of civic participation.
Key Healthcare Issues
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic amplifies pre-existing challenges encountered by healthcare professionals. Nurses and doctors in various facilities often lack the necessary resources to effectively manage the pandemic. Additionally, the absence of a unified national strategy for combating the virus has plagued the healthcare industry, as Jenneh Rishe, founder of The Endometriosis Coalition, observes.
Even outside the pandemic, rising healthcare costs represent a major concern. Inadequate insurance coverage or insufficient coverage for crucial healthcare services poses challenges for both healthcare providers and patients.
In many instances, healthcare providers find themselves unable to sustain operations due to unfavorable insurance reimbursement options, leading them to become out-of-network providers. Consequently, patients grapple with significant out-of-pocket expenses for appointments and medications.
Ruxin explains that healthcare professionals operate within a broader context of systemic pressures, as persistent disparities related to factors like food, housing, air quality, education, and affordable healthcare heavily impact patient health outcomes.
Healthcare in the 2020 Election
According to a report by the Pew Research Center, healthcare ranks among the most significant concerns for Americans in the upcoming election. The already critical issue has been further underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Presidential candidates’ approaches to pandemic response are drawing close scrutiny from voters. Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate, intends to implement a nationwide tracking and testing initiative while providing support for healthcare workers. Incumbent President Donald Trump, a Republican, has largely granted states the authority to manage pandemic responses while focusing on reopening the country.
Additionally, the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) hinges on the outcome of this election. Biden aims to safeguard the ACA while introducing a public option for Americans. In contrast, Trump advocates for overturning the ACA and has challenged its constitutionality through the Supreme Court.
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Other pertinent public health issues include the opioid crisis and gun violence. As healthcare professionals, this nurse’s guide to voting provides a comprehensive overview of these issues.
The Nexus Between Voting and Health
Within the realm of democratic processes like voting, experts emphasize the concept of civic health. Ben Ruxin explains that “civic health describes how well you and your community are able to participate in activities that require you to come together, solve problems, and make decisions that affect everyone.”
Civically healthy communities, characterized by active voter participation, can positively influence community health. Lekha Chilakamarri, co-chair of the Med out the Vote initiative, highlights that “studies show communities with the highest rates of community civic engagement also have the healthiest populations due to implementation of public health policies.”
Civic participation bears multiple positive health implications, including heightened community engagement, stronger networks, increased community ties, and even elevated physical activity. Research involving 44 countries, including the U.S., revealed that voter engagement correlates with better self-reported health. Another study corroborated this finding, showing that non-voters reported worse overall health.
Voting influences social issues intertwined with public health, such as access to secure housing, nutritious food, clean air, quality education, substance abuse treatment, and affordable healthcare. These elements collectively determine the ability of Americans, irrespective of income levels, to lead healthy lives.
The recent surge in healthcare-centric civic education initiatives encourages healthcare professionals to recognize this link and view civic health as part of their professional obligations, contributing to long-term improvements in patient well-being.
Nurses’ Role in the 2020-2024 Election
Nurses possess a unique vantage point, as their close interactions with patients enable them to comprehend the intricacies and complexities of the healthcare system’s impact on patients.
“In the inpatient setting, we spend more time with the patients than anyone else does. In the outpatient setting, we establish a relationship of familiarity,” explains Rishe. “We can see what’s working, and what’s not.”
Drawing from this firsthand perspective, nurses possess insights into the complex realm of medical insurance and healthcare expenses. Furthermore, their extensive bedside care experience grants them a deep understanding of patients’ lives and the personal implications of healthcare costs. Often, patients divulge significant life, health, and financial details to nurses rather than physicians.
As the largest profession within the healthcare industry, comprising over 3.8 million RNs, nurses wield significant collective influence. Leveraging this numerical strength, nurses can unite their unique insights to advocate for their own interests as well as those of their patients through voting.
Chilakamarri acknowledges the challenges nurses might encounter in finding time to vote while working on election day. However, she emphasizes that the imperative for civic engagement is evident in the broader policies that directly impact community health.
Despite potential time constraints faced by healthcare workers on election day, their participation is crucial for shaping policies that could address various healthcare issues, asserts Chilakamarri.
Participating in professional organizations like the American Nurses Association (ANA) facilitates staying updated on critical industry matters. Nurses can also volunteer their time to campaign for candidates, assist at polling stations, or engage in voter registration initiatives.
Encouraging Civic Engagement as a Nurse
Nurses seeking to integrate civic engagement into their patient care approach can capitalize on the proliferation of organizations aimed at motivating nurses and other healthcare professionals to partake in civic participation. Healthcare practitioners can engage by voting, volunteering, joining group activities, and facilitating community involvement.
The Power the Polls campaign, part of the Med out the Vote initiative, encourages healthcare workers to volunteer at polling places to accommodate individuals at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19.
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Efforts are also extending to college campuses. Chilakamarri explains that they aim to empower medical students with resources specific to their institutions, enabling them to encourage voting among peers and communities.
Civic Health Month, a collaborative endeavor involving multiple voting advocacy organizations like VotER, equips healthcare workers with resources to help patients register to vote, facilitating potentially challenging initial conversations with patients while maintaining a nonpartisan stance.
Ruxin notes a noticeable increase in orders for voter registration kits since early June, demonstrating growing interest in civic engagement among healthcare professionals.
These healthcare campaigns underscore the potential of nurses and healthcare professionals to effect meaningful change in the realm of public health by engaging in civic participation. Through voting and other forms of civic involvement, nurses can extend their influence to promote lasting community health improvements.
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