1) How can nuress use the media to promote or not promote covid-19 boosters?
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2) There is a quote I am unsure who wrote but it says, be the change you want to see in the world. I feel this is so very inspirational and true for nursing. We as nurses need to be the change we want to see in nursing. Whether the change be safe nursing to patient ratio, or even to advocate for Gero-psych nursing facilities as I am. Nurses all have their own area they are passionate about for improvement and how will those areas ever improve unless someone stands up to make the change. Throughout my nursing career, there have been many nurse leaders along the way to advocate that fellow nurses become active in politics. I now understand why those nurses wanted to recruit other nurses as we need to stand together for change that we want to see. To pull a subject in for discussion, I will use Covid. I believe each media source pushes it’s own personal rhetoric anymore instead of doing actual journalism and investigations. When Covid first started, some would view it as a political ploy, a hoax, or even as the end of the world. “Conspiracy beliefs thrive when individuals are under threat and societies are in crisis”. (Bruder, M., & Kunert, L. 2022, pg 1). Each media outlet would push their personal agenda instead of coming together to provide actual facts about what it was and the effects it would have as they were learned. When it comes to vaccines, I personally believe there was not enough time for adequate studies to be performed, especially for us to know any long term side effects. Now having said that, we all needed relief and the vaccine was that for us. “To implement effective and evidence-based COVID-19 prevention strategies in vaccine-hesitant populations, we first need to understand the reasons behind the hesitancy”. ( Golder, S. et al. 2023. pg 1). While I watched the news, saw those who were suffering with Covid at the bedside and was scared for my family, I myself was hesitant to get the vaccine. Many different news outlets were saying different things, some said getting the vaccine was the best option, while others were saying the vaccine could have an array of negative side effects making the risk not worth it. What was anyone to think or do, until for most of us the vaccine became mandatory. Again, what were we to do, we all depend on our jobs, and I personally felt strong armed into getting the vaccine. I believe the vaccine, especially given the newness of it, should have been a choice not mandatory.
3)The media including news outlets and social media play a significant role in politics by shaping public opinion and influencing policymaking. Traditional news outlets offer analysis and coverage of political events, holding government officials accountable and informing the public. Social media platforms have magnified this role, allowing for real-time interaction between politicians and the public. Information dispersed through social media can increase transparency and engagement in the political process. Despite the perception that people hold strong views, media outlets can still influence public opinion, especially when individuals have less knowledge about the subject. Repeated exposure to viewpoints can sway public opinion over time.
Nurses have a professional responsibility to be politically active in advocating for policies such as improving mental health care access in rural communities. Nurses should engage in political advocacy to advance their profession and patient care. In this ever-changing world, nurses need to be better equipped with the knowledge and skills to address healthcare issues impacting patients, families, and communities( Jaurique & Schmidt, 2020). Nurses can work together in their local community with management and local council to improve workplace support to impact patient outcomes positively (Goodyear, 2022). Nurses who engage in professional organizations, attend legislative sessions, and communicate with elected officials regarding healthcare concerns can improve the advocacy for patients. Unfortunately, many nurses are not actively involved in policy-making due to a lack of knowledge, confidence, and mentorship in policy strategy. To improve nursing advocacy nurses can incorporate policy and advocacy training into nursing education, develop mentorship programs to pair nurses with more tenured nurses, encourage social media use as a tool to reach a broader audience, and provide influence and joining a professional nursing organization can provide the nurse with resources and support for their advocacy efforts.
Regarding the specific healthcare policy to improve mental healthcare access in rural communities in Iowa, enhancing education around the issue, mentoring with mental healthcare nurses across the state of Iowa, joining the Iowa Nurses Association, and using social media to increase the broader audience can help increase advocacy to change healthcare policy and improve mental health outcomes for patients in rural communities.
