NURS 8100 Allegory of the Orchard
Allegory of the Orchard
The Allegory of the Orchard illustrates the impact of political determinants of health on health outcomes. The allegory makes sense when applied to African Americans with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. The analogy identifies political determinants of health, including access to resources, healthcare policies, public health interventions, social and economic factors, and prioritization of policies that affect health outcomes. The determinants apply to health outcomes in African Americans with chronic conditions. For example, access to healthcare services influences the health outcomes of African Americans with chronic conditions (Dawes et al., 2022). Barriers, including the high cost of healthcare services, lead to challenges in accessing chronic health services among African Americans.
Socioeconomic factors such as unemployment, low educational attainment, and poverty are social determinants of health for this population. These factors affect access to high-quality care for chronic health problems affecting African Americans (Entress & Anderson, 2020). Healthcare policies, including those related to health insurance coverage, affect health outcomes. For example, Medicaid and Medicare policies lessen the disease burden for African Americans with chronic health problems. Public health interventions such as health education and screening can identify chronic conditions and facilitate early treatment (Hill-Briggs et al., 2021; Lin, 2022). However, inadequate resource allocation to these interventions results in delayed diagnoses, poor prognosis, and disproportionate disease burden among African Americans.
I am the right person to be politically involved in addressing the political determinants of health affecting African Americans with chronic conditions. Firstly, I have the right advocacy knowledge and skills to influence political determinants of health. I can use them to ensure the adopted policies align with the prioritized needs of African Americans with chronic conditions. I am also proficient in translating evidence into practice. I can select evidence-based practices to address the political determinants of health and implement them for improved health outcomes for the population. I am also skilled in empowering communities and populations on health issues (White-Williams et al., 2020). I can empower African Americans to utilize the available resources and advocate for policies that enable them to achieve their health goals.
References
Dawes, D. E., Amador, C. M., & Dunlap, N. J. (2022). The Political Determinants of Health: A Global Panacea for Health Inequities. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Global Public Health. https://oxfordre.com/publichealth/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190632366.001.0001/acrefore-9780190632366-e-466
Entress, R. M., & Anderson, K. M. (2020). The Politics of Health Care: Health Disparities, the Affordable Care Act, and Solutions for Success. Social Work in Public Health, 35(4), 152–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2020.1767750
Hill-Briggs, F., Adler, N. E., Berkowitz, S. A., Chin, M. H., Gary-Webb, T. L., Navas-Acien, A., Thornton, P. L., & Haire-Joshu, D. (2021). Social Determinants of Health and Diabetes: A Scientific Review. Diabetes Care, 44(1), 258–279. https://doi.org/10.2337/dci20-0053
Lin, K. (2022). The Political Determinants of Health. Family Medicine, 54(1), 65–66. https://doi.org/10.22454/FamMed.2022.776082
White-Williams, C., Rossi, L. P., Bittner, V. A., Driscoll, A., Durant, R. W., Granger, B. B., Graven, L. J., Kitko, L., Newlin, K., Shirey, M., & On behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Clinical Cardiology; and Council on Epidemiology and Prevention. (2020). Addressing Social Determinants of Health in the Care of Patients With Heart Failure: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation, 141(22), e841–e863. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000767
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Welcome to Week One!! This week, we begin our exploration of health policy and how health policy impacts health outcomes. Our readings this week introduced us to how social and political determinants of health impact the health outcomes of the US population. For our discussion board this week, you are asked to APPLY your understanding of social and political determinants to a group of patients that you are familiar with from your clinical practice. You may wish to format your post in the following manner:
1. Introduction and Identified Group of Patients or Population: First, for the purposes of the class — you are asked to identify a group of patients that you are familiar with or/and whom you provide care for. ***PLEASE*** take a few minutes to identify a group that you are familiar with as you will be asked to refer to this group as part of your discussion over the few weeks. For example: Children with asthma; pregnant women diagnosed with diabetes; migrant farm workers, etc.
2. Identified Health Outcome(s): Given your patient population, what specific HEALTH outcome are you addressing in your group of patients? Keep in mind that this is a HEALTH POLICY course, so our focus is health and health outcomes. For example: Asthma exacerbation is a leading cause of emergency department visits and hospitalizations among children. However, with proper medication and preventive measures, hospitalizations can be reduced. Please make sure that you are identifying A HEALTH or HEALTH-related OUTCOME.
3. Your Role as a DNP in Addressing the Health Outcomes / Being Politically Involved: Keep in mind that THE ROLE of the DNP is the TRANSLATION of the evidence. Given what you learned this week, what is your ROLE as a nurse to advocate for your specific population?
Allegory of the Orchard
The Allegory of the Orchard presents barriers and challenges of underserved, vulnerable, or marginalized populations and communities. These barriers and challenges highlight the importance of understanding the impact of political determinants of health on such groups. This allegory encourages an identification, understanding, analysis, and response to these factors as members of the healthcare community.
For this Discussion, consider the role of the political determinants of health on underserved, vulnerable, or marginalized populations and communities. How might advocates address the health disparities to promote equity and access to high quality healthcare?
Resources
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
Learning Resources
Required Resources
Readings
- Dawes, D. E. (2020). The political determinants of health. Johns Hopkins University Press.
- “Foreword (pp. ix–xi)
- Chapter 1, “The Allegory of the Orchard: The Political Determinants of Health Inequalities” (pp. 1–17)
- Porche, D. J. (2023). Health policy: Applications for nurses and other healthcare professionals (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
- Chapter 1, “Policy Overview” (pp.1–20)
- Chapter 6, “Healthcare Systems” (pp. 81–92)
- Walden University Oasis: Writing Center. (n.d.). Citations: OverviewLinks to an external site.. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/citations
- Walden University Oasis: Writing Center. (n.d.). Common assignments: Discussion postLinks to an external site.. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/assignments/discussionpost
Media
- Satcher Health Leadership Institute. (2021, April 19). The allegory of the orchard: The political determinants of health by Daniel E. DawesLinks to an external site. [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mux1c73fJ78
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 6 minutes. - Satcher Health Leadership Institute. (2021, April 19). The allegory of the orchard—part II: The political determinants of health by Daniel E. Dawes, part 2Links to an external site. [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gTbPog_J9s
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 7 minutes. - Satcher Health Leadership Institute. (2021, February 2). The political determinants of health: Jessica’s storyLinks to an external site. [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmMutvgQIcU
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 5 minutes. - Document: Welcome to the DNP Program Download Welcome to the DNP Program(PPT)
- Document: Welcome to the DNP Program Narrative Download Welcome to the DNP Program Narrative(Word document)
To Prepare:
- View and read the Learning Resources regarding The Allegory of the Orchard.
- Consider the role of political determinants of health on disparities in health for some groups.
- Consider if advocates should be more concerned with policies that promote equality or equity.
- Explore your role, as a nurse, in addressing these determinants in our policy advocacy efforts.
By Day 3 of Week 1
Post a response detailing the following:
Use The Allegory of the Orchard to discuss how the political determinants of health negatively impact the health outcomes of a group of patients for whom you care. Why are you, as a nurse, the right person to become politically involved in addressing these determinants?
By Day 6 of Week 1
Read a selection of your colleagues’ posts. Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by supporting or expanding on the ideas identified by your colleague or sharing additional perspectives on the issue described by your colleague.
NURS_8100_Week1_Discussion_Rubric
Criteria | Ratings | Pts | ||||
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeRESPONSIVENESS TO DISCUSSION QUESTION (20 possible points) Discussion post minimum requirements: The original posting must be completed by Day 3 at 10:59 pm CT. Two response postings to two different peer original posts, on two different days, are required by Day 6 at 10:59 pm CT. Faculty member inquiries require responses, which are not included in the peer posts. Your Discussion Board postings should be written in Standard Academic English and follow APA 7 style for format and grammar as closely as possible given the constraints of the online platform. Be sure to support the postings with specific citations from this week’s learning resources as well as resources available through the Walden University library and other credible online resources (guidelines, expert opinions etc.) |
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20 pts | ||||
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeCONTENT REFLECTION and MASTERY: Initial Post (30 possible points) |
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30 pts | ||||
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeCONTRIBUTION TO THE DISCUSSION: First Response (20 possible points) |
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20 pts | ||||
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeCONTRIBUTION TO THE DISCUSSION: Second Response (20 possible points) |
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20 pts | ||||
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeQUALITY OF WRITING (10 possible points) |
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10 pts | ||||
Total Points: 100 |