NURS 8100 Week 1 Discussion Selecting a Policy Analysis Framework
The policy I have selected for this week’s discussion is the policy surrounding Genetic Data Privacy. In Colorado, this is one of the top 10 policies that will be focused on by legislators even though the top priority for the state remains economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. This policy looks at the rights and obligations from two different perspectives; business obligations and consumer rights. Regulations need to be adhered to by businesses to prevent security breaches of the data they collect. Consumers have the right to access the data that has been collected and request it be deleted (Fording, 2021). The right to have an individual’s personal genetic data protected is not only important in the health care sector but is also emerging as a new issue in the public arena because of corporations like 23andMe and Ancestory.com. Like the bill that passed in California (senate bill 980) which required policies be developed to ensure private genetic information be kept from insurance companies which in turn would prevent denials of insurance, Colorado similarly is looking to ensure that genetic information is kept private.
The framework that applies to this particular issue is outlined in Fawcett and Russell’s (2001), Conceptual Model of Nursing and Health Policy. The model is divided into five levels of focus and outcomes. In this case, I believe that level five is the level that deals with the privacy of genetic information. The fifth level examines health from a global perspective, taking into consideration “social justice, the meaning of health, and a fair distribution of nursing and health resources” (p. 112). As mentioned earlier the need to keep genetic results private so insurance companies cannot use that information to deny coverage is a fair distribution issue. The other stages of this conceptual model could guide healthcare institutions, specifically at the department level, by using levels two and level three. In these levels, the development of policy that guides healthcare practice and the study of its effectiveness is the primary focus. Frameworks like this simplify the concept of policy development for those individuals who do not have a high degree of comfort with this type of work. Nurses are not usually found on the legislative floor discussing policy development so frameworks like this can assist in becoming part of policy development and revision a much more enticing proposition.
References
Fawcett, J., & Russell, G. (2001). A conceptual model of Nursing and health policy. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 2(2), 108–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/152715440100200205
Fording, A. (2021, February 25). Consumer Data Privacy Laws:2021 State Trends. Fiscal Note Blog. https://fiscalnote.com/blog/2021-state-trends-the-rise-of-consumer-data-protection
