There are many factors that come into play when looking to establish policy geared toward preventative healthcare. Many medical centers and healthcare institutions today tend to serve as human damage control, which should direct our attention toward finding better solutions in preventative medicine. Research has shown that years of public health advocacy have yet to significantly improve how we invest in true human well-being (Berwick, 2020). Many elements comprise the social determinants of health including living conditions, education, ability to earn income, access to transportation, and food security to name a few (Berwick, 2020). Beyond that our world is plagued with economic inequities, structural racism, and political distrust. Healthcare is not available to many, particularly considering the number of uninsured in the US alone continues to grow beyond 30 million individuals today (Berwick, 2020). Social situations, like those aforementioned, are exactly what cause people to become ill, succumb to chronic illness, or sustain injury to begin with (Berwick, 2020). It could be posited that corporate investments in healthcare are too dominant, and political influences are too strong to be able to evoke significant change. The people to lead healthcare reform should be, or at least include, healthcare professionals themselves. Nurse practitioners are aligned well to help develop appropriate healthcare delivery models that highlight prevention and wellness (Raingruber, 2017). Expanding the healthcare provider role to include advocating for social reform could catalyze momentum toward global healthcare change. Through continued research and reporting, the advance practice nurse (APRN) is positioned to better understand not only what interventions may be effective, but in relation to which population (Shelton et al., 2018). The APRN is able to recognize the importance of driving practice-based evidence to guide new healthcare adaptations and design implementation of novel, sustainable preventative healthcare programs (Shelton et al., 2018).
