Evidence-Informed Health Policy: Using EBP to Transform Policy in Nursing and Healthcare

What happens in health policy at local, state, and federal levels directly affects patients, nurses, and nursing practice. Some healthcare professionals, though, are intimidated by the complex and often nonlinear policy process or simply don't know how to take the first step toward implementing policy change. In Evidence-Informed Health Policy, authors Jacqueline M. Loversidge and Joyce Zurmehly demystify health policymaking and equip nurses and other healthcare professionals with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to navigate the first of many steps into health policy.

The goals of this book are threefold:

1. To persuade readers that evidence-based or evidence-informed policymaking is not, after all, an oxymoron, and that perspectives on the use of evidence in policy are changing. To our knowledge, this is the first health policy text in nursing and healthcare in which evidence-based policymaking is the primary focus.
2. To ground readers in policy and policymaking to a sufficient extent that it serves as a foundation for using the rest of the book.
3. To present the EIHP model for nursing and healthcare, adapted from the Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt EBP model. This model can be used by nurses and other healthcare professionals serving in active policymaking roles, teaching health policy, or simply interested in the process.

The primary focus of this book is on policymaking in government, but principles and strategies presented can apply well in organizational settings. Mention of these applications is made throughout.

Audiences who can best benefit from this book include the following:

• Nurse leaders
• Nurses who are members or staff of professional associations and organizations
• Healthcare regulatory agency members or staff
• Other healthcare professionals