Public health laws and regulations are often passed in response to human-caused or natural disasters or the spread of an infectious disease or other health epidemic. Select a law or regulation that was passed after a significant public health event or in response to an epidemic. In a 1,250-1,500 word paper, discuss the public health law or regulation and describe its impact on a community, including its ethical implications. Examples could include laws/regulations targeting smoking, obesity, healthy mothers and babies, vaccinations, etc. Include the following:

Introduction with an overview of the law/regulation, why it was passed, and how it was or is being implemented on the local, state, and/or federal level.

1. A discussion of who the law/regulation targets and how they are being impacted.
2. An evaluation of the efficacy of the law/regulation. Include evidence demonstrating whether it is or is not working.
3. A discussion of the law/regulation’s ethical implications-Do you think this law is fair and ethical in natural? It is being applied ethically/fairly? Were/are there any unforeseen/unintended consequences to be considered?

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

• Write a 4–6-page report for a senior leader that communicates your evaluation of current organizational or interprofessional team performance, with respect to prescribed benchmarks set forth by government laws and policies at the local, state, and federal levels. In addition, advocate for ethical action to address benchmark underperformance and explain the potential for improving the overall quality of care and performance, as reflected on a performance dashboard.
  In the era of health care reform, many of the laws and policies set forth by government at the local, state, and federal levels have specific performance benchmarks related to care delivery outcomes that organizations must achieve. It is critical for organizational success that the interprofessional care team is able to understand reports and dashboards that display the metrics related to performance and compliance benchmarks.
• Maintaining standards and promoting quality in modern health care are crucial, not only for the care of patients, but also for the continuing success and financial viability of health care organizations. In the era of health care reform, health care leaders must understand what quality care entails and how quality in health care connects to the standards set forth by relevant federal, state, and local laws and policies. An understanding of relevant benchmarks that result from these laws and policies, and how they relate to quality care and regulatory standards, is also vitally important.
  Health care is a dynamic, complex, and heavily regulated industry. For this reason, you will be expected to constantly scan the external environment for emerging laws, new regulations, and changing industry standards. You may discover that as new policies are enacted into law, ambiguity in interpretation of various facets of the law may occur. Sometimes, new laws conflict with preexisting laws and regulations, or unexpected implementation issues arise, which may warrant further clarification from lawmakers. Adding partisan politics and social media to the mix can further complicate understanding of the process and buy-in from stakeholders.

• Assessment Instructions
• Note: Your evaluation of dashboard metrics for this assessment is the foundation on which all subsequent assessments are based. Therefore, you must complete this assessment first.
  Write a report for a senior leader that communicates your evaluation of current organizational or interprofessional team performance with respect to prescribed benchmarks set forth by government laws and policies at the local, state, and federal levels. In addition, advocate for ethical action to address benchmark underperformance and explain the potential for improving the overall quality of care and performance, as reflected on a performance dashboard.
  Review the performance dashboard metrics, as well as relevant local, state, and federal laws and policies. Consider the metrics that are falling short of the prescribed benchmarks. Structure your report so that it will be easy for a colleague or supervisor to locate the information they need, and be sure to cite the relevant health care policies or laws when evaluating metric performance against established benchmarks.
  Note: Remember that you can submit all, or a portion of, your draft report to Smarthinking for feedback, before you submit the final version for this assessment. If you plan on using this free service, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback.
  Preparation
  Choose one of the following three options for a performance dashboard to use as the basis for your evaluation:
  Option 1: Dashboard Metrics Evaluation Simulation
  Use the data presented in the Dashboard and Health Care Benchmark Evaluation multimedia activity as the basis for your evaluation.
  Note: The writing that you do as part of the simulation could serve as a starting point to build upon for this assessment.
  Option 2: Actual Dashboard
  Use an actual dashboard from a professional practice setting for your evaluation. If you decide to use actual dashboard metrics, be sure to add a brief description of the organization and setting that includes:
  • The size of the facility that the dashboard is reporting on.
  • The specific type of care delivery.
  • The population diversity and ethnicity demographics.
  • The socioeconomic level of the population served by the organization.
  • Note: Ensure your data are Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant. Do not use any easily identifiable organization or patient information.
    Option 3: Hypothetical Dashboard
    If you have a sophisticated understanding of dashboards relevant to your own practice, you may also construct a hypothetical dashboard for your evaluation. Your hypothetical dashboard must present at least four different metrics, at least two of which must be underperforming the prescribed benchmark set forth by a federal, state, or local laws or policies. In addition, be sure to add a brief description of the organization and setting that includes:
  • The size of the facility that the dashboard is reporting on.
  • The specific type of care delivery.
  • The population diversity and ethnicity demographics.
  • The socioeconomic level of the population served by the organization.
  • Note: Ensure your data are HIPAA compliant. Do not use any easily identifiable organization or patient information.
    Requirements
    The report requirements outlined below correspond to the scoring guide criteria, so be sure to address each main point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. In addition, be sure to note the requirements for document format and length and for supporting evidence.
  • Evaluate dashboard metrics associated with benchmarks set forth by local, state, or federal health care laws or policies.
    • Which metrics are not meeting the benchmark for the organization?
    • What are the local, state, or federal health care policies or laws that establish these benchmarks?
    • What conclusions can you draw from your evaluation?
    • Are there any unknowns, missing information, unanswered questions, or areas of uncertainty where additional information could improve your evaluation?
  • Analyze one challenge that meeting prescribed benchmarks can pose for a heath care organization or interprofessional team.
    • Consider the following examples:
      • Strategic direction.
      • Organizational mission.
      • Resources.
      • Staffing.
      • Financial: Operational and capital funding.
      • Logistical considerations: Physical space.
      • Support services (any ancillary department that gives support to a specific care unit in the organization, such as pharmacy, cleaning services, dietary, et cetera).
      • Cultural diversity in the organization and community.
      • Procedures and processes.
    • Address the following:
      • Why do the challenges you identified contribute, potentially, to benchmark underperformance?
      • What assumptions underlie your conclusions?
  • Evaluate a benchmark underperformance in a heath care organization or interprofessional team that has the potential for greatly improving overall quality or performance. Focus on the benchmark you chose to target for improvement.
    • Which metric is underperforming its benchmark by the greatest degree?
    • Which benchmark underperformance is the most widespread throughout the organization or interprofessional team?
    • Which benchmark affects the greatest number of patients? Which benchmark affects the greatest number of staff?
    • How does this underperformance affect the community that the organization serves?
    • Where is the greatest opportunity to improve the overall quality of care or performance of the organization or interpersonal team and, ultimately, to improve patient outcomes, as you think about the issue and the current poor benchmark outcomes?
  • Advocate for ethical action, directed toward an appropriate group of stakeholders, to address a benchmark underperformance.
    • Who would be an appropriate group of stakeholders to act on improving your identified benchmark metric?
    • Why should the stakeholder group take action?
    • What are some ethical actions the stakeholder group could take that support improved benchmark performance?
  • Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
    • Proofread your report, before you submit it, to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your evaluation and analysis.
  • Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence.
    • Be sure to apply correct APA formatting to source citations and references.
  • Example Assessment: You may use the Assessment 1 Example [PDF] to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like.
    Report Format and Length
    Format your report using APA style.
  • Use the APA Style Paper Template [DOCX]. The APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] will help you in writing and formatting your report. Be sure to include:
    •  A title page and references page. An abstract is not required.
    • A running head on all pages.
    • Appropriate section headings.
  • Be sure your report should be 4–6 pages in length, not including the title page and references page.
  • Supporting Evidence
    Cite 4–6 credible sources from peer-reviewed journals or professional industry publications to support your analysis of challenges, evaluation of potential for improvement, and your advocacy for ethical action.
    Note: Faculty may use the Writing Feedback Tool when grading this assessment. The Writing Feedback Tool is designed to provide you with guidance and resources to develop your writing based on five core skills. You will find writing feedback in the Scoring Guide for the assessment, once your work has been evaluated.
    Portfolio Prompt: You may choose to save your report to your ePortfolio.
    Competencies Measured
    By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
  • Competency 1: Analyze relevant health care laws, policies, and regulations; their application; and their effects on organizations, interprofessional teams, and professional practice.
    • Analyze challenges that meeting prescribed benchmarks can pose for a heath care organization or interprofessional team.
  • Competency 2: Lead the development and implementation of ethical and culturally sensitive policies that improve health outcomes for individuals, organizations, and populations.
    • Advocate for ethical action, directed toward an appropriate group of stakeholders, to address a benchmark underperformance.
  • Competency 3: Evaluate relevant indicators of performance, such as benchmarks, research, and best practices, to inform health care laws and policies for patients, organizations, and populations.
    • Evaluate dashboard metrics associated with benchmarks set forth by local, state, or federal health care laws or policies.
    • Evaluate a benchmark underperformance in a heath care organization or interprofessional team that has the potential for greatly improving overall quality or performance.
  • Competency 5: Produce clear, coherent, and professional written work, in accordance with Capella’s writing standards.
    • Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
    • Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence.

• Record a slide presentation with Script for the presentation, supported by 8–12-slides, for one of the stakeholder groups identified in your Assessment 2 Policy Proposal, which addresses current performance shortfalls, the reasons why new policy and practice guidelines are needed to eliminate those shortfalls, and how the group’s work will benefit from the changes.
  It is important that health care leaders be able to clearly articulate policy positions and recommendations and garner buy-in and support from stakeholder groups for policy and practice changes in their organizations. Unfortunately, effective communication is often lacking. Consequently, it is important for health care leaders, when leading change, to ensure that clear and open communication is ongoing and informative.
• An important aspect of change leadership is the ability to address diverse groups of stakeholders and create buy-in and support for your ideas and proposals for change. This assessment provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate and hone these skills.
• Assessment Instructions
• Record a slide presentation, with audio voiceover, for one of the stakeholder groups you identified in your Assessment 2 Policy Proposal. Inform the group of current performance shortfalls, introduce the proposed policy, explain why the policy is needed, and present policy-driven practice guidelines to resolve the performance issue. You must also obtain buy-in from the group by explaining the positive effects of the policy and practice guidelines on their work.
  Note: Remember that you can submit all, or a portion of, your draft presentation to Smarthinking for feedback, before you submit the final version for this assessment. If you plan on using this free service, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback.
  Requirements
  The presentation requirements outlined below correspond to the scoring guide criteria, so be sure to address each main point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. In addition, be sure to note the requirements for presentation format and length and for supporting evidence.
  • Summarize your proposed organizational policy and practice guidelines.
    • Identify applicable local, state, or federal health care policy or law that prescribes relevant performance benchmarks that your policy proposal addresses.
    • Keep your audience in mind when creating this summary.
  • Interpret, for stakeholders, the relevant benchmark metrics that illustrate the need for the proposed policy and practice guidelines.
    • Make sure this is a brief review of the evaluation you completed in your Assessment 1 Dashboard Metrics Evaluation.
    • Make sure you are interpreting the dashboard metrics in a way that is understandable and meaningful to the stakeholders to whom you are presenting.
  • Explain how your proposed policy and practice guidelines will affect how the stakeholder group does its work.
    • How might your proposal alter certain tasks or how the stakeholder group performs them?
    • How might your proposal affect the stakeholder group’s workload?
    • How might your proposal alter the responsibilities of the stakeholder group?
    • How might your proposal improve working conditions for the stakeholder group?
  • Explain how your proposed policy and practice guidelines will improve quality and outcomes for the stakeholder group.
    • How are your proposed changes going to improve the quality of the stakeholder group’s work?
    • How will these improvements enable the stakeholder group to be more successful?
    • What evidence supports your conclusions or presents alternative perspectives?
  • Present strategies for collaborating with the stakeholder group to implement your proposed policy and practice guidelines.
    • What role will the stakeholder group play in implementing your proposal?
    • Why is the stakeholder group and their collaboration important for successful implementation?
  • Deliver a persuasive, coherent, and effective audiovisual presentation.
    • Address the anticipated needs and concerns of your audience.
    • Stay focused on key policy provisions and the impact of practice guidelines on the group.
    • Adhere to presentation best practices.
    • Proofread your presentation slides to minimize errors that could distract the audience and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your proposed policy and practice guidelines.
  • Example Assessment: You may use the Assessment 3 Example [PDF] to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like.
    Presentation Format and Length
    You may use Microsoft PowerPoint or other suitable presentation software to create your slides. If you elect to use an application other than PowerPoint, check with your faculty to avoid potential file compatibility issues.
    If using PowerPoint to create your presentation slides, you may use the SoNHS Professional Presentation Guidelines [PPTX] as a template.
    Be sure that your slide deck includes the following slides:
  • Title slide.
    • Presentation title.
    • Your name.
    • Date.
    • Course number and title.
  • References (at the end of your presentation). Apply current APA formatting to all citations and references.
  • Your slide deck should consist of 8–12 slides, not including a title and references slide.
    Note: If you have technical difficulties in recording your audio, you may, in place of the audio, provide a complete script of what you intended to say in the notes section of each slide. If you require the use of assistive technology or alternative communication methods to participate in this activity, please contact [email protected] to request accommodations.
    Supporting Evidence
    Cite 3–5 sources of scholarly, professional, or policy evidence to support your analysis and recommendations.
    Portfolio Prompt: You may choose to save your presentation to your ePortfolio.
    Competencies Measured
    By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
  • Competency 1: Analyze relevant health care laws, policies, and regulations; their application; and their effects on organizations, interprofessional teams, and professional practice.
    • Explain how a proposed policy and practice guidelines will affect how a stakeholder group does its work.
  • Competency 2: Lead the development and implementation of ethical and culturally sensitive policies that improve health outcomes for individuals, organizations, and populations.
    • Summarize a proposed organizational policy and practice guidelines.
    • Explain how a proposed policy and practice guidelines will improve quality and outcomes for a stakeholder group.
  • Competency 3: Evaluate relevant indicators of performance, such as benchmarks, research, and best practices, to inform health care laws and policies for patients, organizations, and populations.
    • Interpret, for stakeholders, the relevant benchmark metrics that illustrate the need for a proposed policy and practice guidelines.
  • Competency 4: Develop strategies to work collaboratively with policy makers, stakeholders, and colleagues to address environmental (governmental and regulatory) forces.
    • Present strategies for collaborating with a stakeholder group to implement a proposed policy and practice guidelines.
    • Deliver a persuasive, coherent, and effective audiovisual presentation.

Prepare this assignment as a 1,500-1,750 word paper using the instructor feedback from the previous course assignments and the guidelines below.

PICOT Question 

Revise the PICOT question you wrote in the Topic 1 assignment using the feedback you received from your instructor.

The final PICOT question will provide a framework for your capstone project (the project students must complete during their final course in the RN-BSN program of study).

Research Critiques

In the Topic 2 and Topic 3 assignments, you completed a qualitative and quantitative research critique on two articles for each type of study (4 articles total). Use the feedback you received from your instructor on these assignments to finalize the critical analysis of each study by making appropriate revisions.

The completed analysis should connect to your identified practice problem of interest that is the basis for your PICOT question.

Refer to “Research Critiques and PICOT Guidelines – Final Draft.” Questions under each heading should be addressed as a narrative in the structure of a formal paper.

Proposed Evidence-Based Practice Change

Discuss the link between the PICOT question, the research articles, and the nursing practice problem you identified. Include relevant details and supporting explanation and use that information to propose evidence-based practice changes.

General Requirements

Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide