Policy

2023-2024 Policy Priorities to Advance Health Equity

The American Academy of Nursing releases its 2023-2024 Policy Priorities to Advance Health Equity. These priorities include: Increase Accessibility to All Forms of Health Care; Promote High-Impact Advances in Practice, Innovation, and Science; and Build Capacity to Support Nurses and Other Providers. Learn more.

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Policy

The American Academy of Nursing serves the public and the nursing profession by advancing health policy through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge.

Academy Policy Actions

Position Statements

Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention

The American Academy of Nursing (Academy) has long supported policies to reduce firearm violence in the United States. Firearm violence, from suicides to mass shootings, is an epidemic in the United States, and as such, a public health approach to addressing the causes and risk factors leading to violence is necessary to safeguard the health of the nation. The Academy’s position was built on current research, national statistics, and evidence-based recommendations.

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Recent Expert Panel Publications

Climate change and the adverse impact on the health and well-being of women and girls
Women's Health Expert Panel

  • This manuscript explores the effects of climate change on the health and well-being of women and girls. It examines key areas of human health that are linked to planetary health including reproductive health, infectious disease, migration, and access to resources such as food and water.

Consensus statement on leveraging equity in policy to improve recognition and treatment of mental health, substance use disorders, and nurse suicide
Psychiatric, Mental Health, and Substance Use, Bioethics, Environmental and Public Health, Military and Veterans Health, and Quality Health Care Expert Panels

  • This manuscript establishes a consensus among clinical and policy leaders and scholars from Expert Panels of the American Academy of Nursing for an action plan to address risks to mental health and the factors contributing to nurse suicide.

Scoping review: Positive and negative impact of technology on clinicians
Informatics and Technology, Bioethics, and Quality Health Care Expert Panels

  • This consensus paper explores electronic health records (EHR) and their benefits for patients and clinicians. While there are many benefits to EHR usage, unfortunately, the unintended consequences of unnecessary documentation burden and usability issues have negatively impacted clinicians leading to burnout and moral distress.

Learn More About the Expert Panels

Latest Policy News

November 3: The Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science (CANS) and the Academy sent a letter to the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) regarding their request for information on advancing nursing research in climate and health. The Academy's Environmental & Public Health Expert Panel and the CANS Science Committee contributed to the development of the response. Read more.
October 18: The Academy, along with other APRN organizations, sent a letter to the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, in response to a request for information regarding the promulgation of a regulation on provider nondiscrimination (2706(a) of the Public Health Service Act). Read more.

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2022 Policy Dialogue Meeting Proceedings

(Hosted in June 2022)
Hosted by the Expert Panel on Child, Adolescent, and Family, in collaboration with the Expert Panels on Psychiatric, Mental Health, and Substance Use as well as Trauma and Violence, this dialogue addressed the national crisis of chronic stress for children, youth, and families.

Optimizing the Nursing Workforce: Exploring Innovative Reforms and Policy Implications
(Hosted in May 2022)
Hosted by the Building Health Care System Excellence Expert Panel in collaboration with the Expert Panels on Quality Health Care and Acute and Critical Care, this dialogue focused on current workforce shortages, projected workforce demands, and models of care that optimize nurses’ expertise to enhance care delivery.