When politics and medical science intersect, there can be much debate. Sometimes anecdotes or hearsay are misused as evidence to support a particular point. Despite these and other challenges, however, evidence-based approaches are increasingly used to inform health policy decision-making regarding causes of disease, intervention strategies, and issues impacting society. One example is the introduction of childhood vaccinations and the use of evidence-based arguments surrounding their safety.
In this Discussion, you will identify a recently proposed health policy and share your analysis of the evidence in support of this policy.
To Prepare:
Review the Congress website: https://www.congress.gov/ and identify one recent (within the past 5 years) proposed health policy.
Review the health policy you identified and reflect on the background and development of this health policy.
Instruction
Post a description of the health policy you selected and a brief background for the problem or issue being addressed. Which social determinant most affects this policy? Explain whether you believe there is an evidence base to support the proposed policy and explain why. Be specific and provide examples.
Evidence Base in Design
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliations
Evidence Base in Design
Implementing health policies that are supported by evidence increases the chances of positive outcomes being realized and prevents the wastage of resources. A recently proposed health policy that has been chosen for this discussion is the Campaign to Prevent Suicide Act, bill number H.R.2862. The bill passed House on 05/12/2021 (Congress.gov., 2022). The sponsor of the bill, Representative Donald S. Beyer Jr., calls upon the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of a national media campaign focused on suicide prevention. Suicide and suicide-associated behaviors have become major public health concerns worldwide. According to Martinez-Ales et al. (2020), approximately 800,000 suicide-related deaths are reported worldwide annually. The authors further assert that the United States reports approximately a 5% increase in suicide attempts each year. This calls for the need to implement interventions that will help to prevent suicide in the community.
The social determinants of health that mostly affect the Campaign to Prevent Suicide Act are health literacy as well as community and social contexts. Factors within the community and social environments can increase a person’s risks of committing suicide and developing suicidal thoughts and engaging in suicidal behaviors. Additionally, poor health literacy in relation to suicide can increase a person’s suicide risk (Wang & Wu, 2021).
The Campaign to Prevent Suicide Act should be considered for the next steps because there is a sufficient evidence base to support its enactment. For example, a study by Pirkis et al. (2019) revealed that media campaigns are effective strategies for preventing suicide. In another study, Ftanou et al. (2021) reported that through media campaigns, it is possible to reach a large audience and influence suicide prevention behaviors among them. Policymakers should explore additional published evidence related to the proposed policy when making decisions regarding whether it should be passed into law or not.
References
Congress.gov. (2022). H.R.2862: Campaign to Prevent Suicide Act. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2862?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22suicide+awareness%22%2C%22suicide%22%2C%22awareness%22%5D%7D&s=8&r=14
Ftanou, M., Reavley, N., Robinson, J., Spittal, M. J., & Pirkis, J. (2021). Developing public service announcements to help prevent suicide among young people. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), 4158. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084158
Martinez-Ales, G., Hernandez-Calle, D., Khauli, N., & Keyes, K. M. (2020). Why are suicide rates increasing in the United States? Towards a multilevel reimagination of suicide prevention. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, 46, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2020_158.
Pirkis, J., Rossetto, A., Nicholas, A., Ftanou, M., Robinson, J., & Reavley, N. (2019). Suicide Prevention Media campaigns: A systematic literature review. Health Communication, 34(4), 402–414. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2017.1405484
Wang, G., & Wu, L. (2021). Social determinants on suicidal thoughts among young adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(16), 8788. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168788