Impact stakeholders and interest groups
General Decision Making: Explain the overall impact stakeholders and interest groups can have on decision making regarding your chosen issue. Do not include any financially related impacts. Consider the following guiding question in your response:
Why is it important to consider nonfinancial stakeholder and/or interest group impacts when it comes to making health policy decisions, particularly relating to this issue?
Benefits and Disadvantages: Explain which stakeholders and/or interest groups might financially benefit or be disadvantaged by your chosen issue. Consider the following guiding questions in your response:
How might stakeholders and/or interest groups benefit from this issue?
How might stakeholders and/or interest groups be disadvantaged by this issue?
How might those in vulnerable populations or underserved areas be financially benefited or disadvantaged by this issue?
Competing Value Conflicts: Describe how competing financial value conflicts between stakeholders could be addressed with respect to your chosen issue. Consider the following guiding questions in your response:
What financial value conflicts might patients have with respect to this issue?
What financial value conflicts might healthcare providers have with respect to this issue?
What financial value conflicts might insurance companies have with respect to this issue?
What financial value conflicts might other stakeholders have with respect to this issue?
Why is it important to understand these value conflicts when making decisions related to health policy?
How might the competition between these financial value conflicts affect both stakeholders’ influence on the issue and how stakeholders are impacted by the issue itself?
Financial Decision Making: Explain the financial impact stakeholders and interest groups can have on decision making regarding your chosen issue. Consider the following guiding question in your response:
Why is it important to consider financial stakeholder and/or interest group impacts when it comes to making health policy decisions, particularly relating to this issue?
Recommendation
Position Statement: Recommend a strategic approach to decision making for your chosen health policy issue based on your assessment findings. Consider the following guiding questions in your response:
Based on your findings, would you suggest the organization move forward with pursuing changes to their current policies?
If so, how might they be able to move forward with these changes?
If not, what other strategies or recommendations would you make instead, given the information you currently have available?
Sample Solution
When it comes to health policy decisions, it is important to consider the non-financial impacts of stakeholders and interest groups in order to ensure that the decision making process is fair, equitable and reflective of the values and needs of all parties involved. These groups can have a significant impact on health related decisions as they each have their own unique perspectives which may differ from those in power. For example, patients may have very different opinions regarding certain treatments than healthcare providers or researchers due to their personal experiences (Baker et al., 2018). Additionally, interest groups such as NGOs, advocacy organizations or lobbyists can influence public opinion which in turn influences policy makers when crafting legislation (Li & Kleinman 2020).
It is also important to consider non-financial stakeholder impacts because these individuals often bear the brunt of policies enacted without taking into account their specific needs. For instance, if policymakers are only considering financial costs associated with a particular policy then they may overlook potential adverse effects on communities who could be disproportionately affected by the decision (Kim et al., 2019). By including these voices at the decision making table we can ensure that everyone’s interests are taken into consideration resulting in more effective outcomes.
Therefore it is clear why it is so important to consider non-financial stakeholder and/or interest group when developing health policies relating to any issue.
