When politics and medical science intersect, there can be much debate. Sometimes anecdotes or hearsay are misused as evidence to support a particular point. Despite these and other challenges, however, evidence-based approaches are increasingly used to inform health policy decision-making regarding causes of disease, intervention strategies, and issues impacting society. One example is the introduction of childhood vaccinations and the use of evidence-based arguments surrounding their safety.

In this Discussion, you will identify a recently proposed health policy and share your analysis of the evidence in support of this policy.

To Prepare:

• Review the Congress website provided in the Resources and identify one recent (within the past 5 years) proposed health policy in California.
• Review the health policy you identified and reflect on the background and development of this health policy.

By Day 3 of Week 7

Post a description of the health policy you selected and a brief background for the problem or issue being addressed. Explain whether you believe there is an evidence base to support the proposed policy and explain why. Be specific and provide examples.

Rubric provided, APA format, use 3 credible sources (within 5 years). Please red carefully on the bolded instructions.

Answer review

Healthcare policies help to govern the effective delivery of health care services. However, these policies pass through a set of policy development stages before they get enacted. Throughout the policymaking process, both political and medical science viewpoints are applied. The main challenge identified in policymaking debates is the use of anecdotes or unreliable information. Such information may cause the policy to fail, especially when it is unable to solve the intended problem. Today, policy-makers have adopted evidence-based approaches to create effective policies. Before initiating the policy development process, policy-makers first identify and define the problem to be solved. Also, policy-makers apply measures that they are sure about effectiveness. For the past few years, the state of California has proposed a variety of healthcare policies, including the ones that are underway. (800 words)