Nursing and Policy As an advocate for individuals, as well as communities, community health nurses realize the importance of being active in the political arena, influencing legislators to pass effective public health policies to protect the overall health of society (Nies & McEwen, 2015). Childhood immunization policies are important, for not only the health of our children but also the health of our nation for generations to come. The purpose of this paper is to discuss current childhood immunization legislation, proposed changes regarding this legislation, and the benefits of meeting with elected officials regarding public health policy.
Becoming Politically Active Registered nurses are the largest professional health care …show more content…
2232, cited as the “Vaccinate All Children Act of 2015” (Network of Care, 2015). This particular draft law, introduced by Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, is currently under review by the Committee on Energy and Commerce (Network of Care, 2015). H.R. 2232 suggests amending the Public Health Service Act to require immunizations for all students by all states, except for medical exemptions, and written exemptions must be by a licensed physician upon completion of a physical examination of the student (Network of Care, …show more content…
Adopting federal legislation will establish uniform law across all states regarding childhood immunization exemptions. States that allow religious and philosophical exemptions, vary in regards to their application processes for opting out of childhood immunizations; some states make it very easy for parents to object to immunizing their children (Gostin, 2015). Nonmedical exemptions put our communities at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases, which in turn affects nursing practice, resulting in increased acute and chronic illness in our communities, for instance, the effects of polio, which is prevalent in other countries (Gostin, 2015). Nonmedical exemptions have resulted in outbreaks of preventable diseases, such as measles, declared eliminated in the United States (U.S.) in 2000; unfortunately, in 2014, the CDC recorded 644 cases across 27 states (Gostin,
Becoming Politically Active Registered nurses are the largest professional health care …show more content…
2232, cited as the “Vaccinate All Children Act of 2015” (Network of Care, 2015). This particular draft law, introduced by Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, is currently under review by the Committee on Energy and Commerce (Network of Care, 2015). H.R. 2232 suggests amending the Public Health Service Act to require immunizations for all students by all states, except for medical exemptions, and written exemptions must be by a licensed physician upon completion of a physical examination of the student (Network of Care, …show more content…
Adopting federal legislation will establish uniform law across all states regarding childhood immunization exemptions. States that allow religious and philosophical exemptions, vary in regards to their application processes for opting out of childhood immunizations; some states make it very easy for parents to object to immunizing their children (Gostin, 2015). Nonmedical exemptions put our communities at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases, which in turn affects nursing practice, resulting in increased acute and chronic illness in our communities, for instance, the effects of polio, which is prevalent in other countries (Gostin, 2015). Nonmedical exemptions have resulted in outbreaks of preventable diseases, such as measles, declared eliminated in the United States (U.S.) in 2000; unfortunately, in 2014, the CDC recorded 644 cases across 27 states (Gostin,