Policy Power and Politics in Health Care Provision

Running head: POLICY POWER AND POLITICS IN HEALTH CARE PROVISION
Policy Power and Politics in Health Care Provision
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POLICY POWER AND POLITICS IN HEALTH CARE PROVISION
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Policy Power and Politics in Health Care Provision
Q. 1. Policy Cycle
Policies are mandatory steps rules or steps that guide the process of making decisions within
institutions. In most cases, policies are established in accordance with the mission and vision of
the organization with the aim of guiding the organization towards a goal-oriented future.
According to Brigman and Davis (2015), it is recommended that policies are formulated by
following policy cycles. Hortchl, Perycek, and Schollhammer (2015) define a policy cycle as a
breakdown or division of the main policy into a series of steps that are iterative with the goal of
ensuring positive outcomes for the public.
Policy cycle may range from four iterative steps to eight steps. The major components of
a policy cycle are the issue identification, analysis of the options available for the issue at hand,
consultation with the relevant stakeholders, identification of the instruments for the policy,
coordination of the resources available, implementation, and finally the evaluation stage where
the outcomes are compared to the expectations. The process is iterative, implying that it has to
be repeated. This renders the policy cycle an efficient process in policy development.
Some advantages of policy cycle are the ability to focus on each stage independently,
hence making sure that there are maximum positive outcomes. Additionally, in case there is a
weakness in a given stage, it becomes easier to focus on a given stage and make maximum
utilization when making decisions. Additionally, policies are meant to benefit the whole nation.
According to Smith (2014), the iterative process in the policy formulation and implementation
allows the stakeholders to reflect on areas that need improvement and make changes that can be

POLICY POWER AND POLITICS IN HEALTH CARE PROVISION
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easily assimilated into the program. This is especially important as it allows all the interests of
stakeholders such as consumers and interest groups are catered for before making decision.
Q. 4. Sociological issues and their impact on health
Different societies are impacted by different issues that impact the normal functioning of society.
These issues may affect a significant number of people in a given society, making it impossible
for the members to cope with the problems they face. Sociological problems are problems that
emanate at the society level and impact the normal functioning of the entire society (Wright %
Almavista, 2016). These problems tend to have a significant impact on the members of the
society and may impede development of the members of the society. One major impact of the
sociological problems is that they have adverse effect on the health of the society.
Some examples of sociological problems include poverty and literacy levels. When
people live in poverty, they cannot afford quality education. Their living conditions also expose
them to risks of communicable diseases that place them at risk. There is also a high chance of
people to engage in social crimes such as prostitution and drug abuse with the goal of raising
income to cater for their basic needs. This leads to spread of sexually transmitted diseases and
other infections.
The level of education and literacy is another sociological issue that affects people’s
health. When people are educated, they become aware of how they can protect themselves from
infections and disease-causing germs. They also learn to invest in their future, making them less
dependent when they age. However, when people are ignorant of their health, they hardly take
care of their environment. They instead engage in practices that harm their environment and
people around them (Leisink, Bosilie, Bottenburg, & Holsking, 2013). They hardly make