Assessment 3: Policy Analysis - Strategic Issues Paper
Assessment 3: Policy Analysis - Strategic Issues Paper
Task description For this assignment you will select a real-life proposed national or state health policy or reform (see list of examples included below), and, in the form of a Strategic Issues Paper, you will:
Conduct an analysis of the policy; and
Assess how the implementation of this policy would likely affect your own organisation/ organisational unit.
The ultimate purpose of undertaking this policy analysis is to (hypothetically) help your organisation understand and prepare for the policy or reform before it is legislated or implemented. Note: Your final assignment for this unit (Assignment 4), will build on the findings from your Strategic Issues Paper, by developing a strategy for policy/reform implementation. In this assignment, however, you do not need to consider any actions or forward planning, you are simply undertaking an assessment of the policy, and its likely implications for your organisation.)
In completing this task, please adopt a leadership role and an appropriate audience for your Strategic Issues Paper. For instance, if you select and assume the role of a Senior Executive who will be tabling/ presenting the Issues Paper to an Executive Committee, then you will need to 'pitch' the Strategic Issues Paper at the whole-of-organisation level and consider how the policy will affect the whole organisation. Alternatively, if you position yourself as a Team Leader for a particular workplace unit (e.g. a hospital ward or ICU) within a bigger organisation (e.g. a hospital), then you will need to think more about how the policy change might affect just that part of the organisation that you are leading. However, keep in mind that even at a lower organisational level (e.g. a hospital ICU) you will still need to demonstrate an awareness of the broader organisational context that you are working within (e.g. your organisations strategic goals etc), any ripple effects that a change at your level may have on other parts of the organisation, with a view to coordinating with other parts of the organisation (e.g. when considering key stakeholders etc).
Task Length 1500 words (+/- 10%)
Links to Unit's learning outcomes ILO3, ILO4, ILO5
Assessment Criteria See theAssessment Task 3 RubricFormat Essay
Total mark 25%
Detailed Instructions and Assignment Structure Detailed Instructions and Assignment Structure
Your Strategic Issues Paper should contain the following sub-headings and key content:
Introduction
Concisely: a) identify the proposed policy that you have selected for your analysis (see 'List of Proposed/ Recent Health and Care Policies or Reforms' below) and why you selected this policy/ why it is relevant to your organisational context; and b) identify your leadership role (e.g. Senior Exec, or Team Leader) and the corresponding workplace level (e.g. whole-of-organisation or organisation unit) that your policy analysis relates to. Provide a one sentence summary of the purpose of the Strategic Issues Paper.
This section should be no more than approximately 150 words.
Background
Having identified the policy in the Introduction, you now need to concisely describe the proposed policy, including the broader reasons for the policy change or reform, and a brief description of the policy/ reform itself. For instance: what is the purpose of the policy (what problem is it claiming to solve), what are its main goals and how will it seek to achieve these?
Draw on Walt and Gilsons policy analysis triangle to structure your summary and description, ensuring that you have considered policy context (reasons for the change), policy content (what will change), policy processes (how the policy may be rolled out), and policy actors (who are the key stakeholders, from the perspective of your organisation).
We recommend that you present this information in a table. (Note: for this assignment (only) table content is not included in the word count; however, in academic writing you must always provide a summary of the table content and a description of key take-aways/ points of argument, from the table, in the body of the paper).
This section should be no more than approximately 400 words.
Summary of Key Issues and Opportunities
In this section of your Strategic Issues Paper you should identify the key issues, opportunities, and implications of the proposed policy, considering several dimensions of your organisations operation and performance:
ethical and legal
financial / efficiency
workforce and industrial
quality / experience of care
continuity of care
Also, please consider whether and how the proposed policy is likely to align (or conflict) with your organisations strategic context (e.g. the organisations vision, mission, values, current strategic focus/goals, and/or particular performance KPIs etc). You may include key strategy documents from your organisation as an Appendix (so long as those documents can appropriately be disseminated).
Keep in mind: a) the policy may have positive and/or negative effects/implications, and it may have both intended and possibly unintended consequences, and you should consider both; b) you may also find that benefits identified under one dimension may be in conflict with unidentified detriments in another (e.g. improvements to efficiency and financial performance may be at the expense of patient experience or quality of care).
We recommend that you present your identified policy issues, opportunities, strategic alignment, and implications in a table (for this assignment (only) the table is not included in the word count). If so, please also provide a brief summary of the content included in the table, with a short discussion of the key findings, in the body of your paper.
This section should be approximately 400 words.
Situation Analysis and Implications
Select two or three (2 or 3) of the most significant issues and/or opportunities that you identified in the previous section of your paper. Justify why you have selected these as the most significant, why they are particularly significant for your organisational context (e.g. what is it about your organisation that highlights these issues/opportunities for yourself and colleagues). (Note: at least two of your selections must be an issue rather than an opportunity).
Next, undertake a deeper analysis of their likely impact on your organisation/organisational unit including likely positive and/or negative impacts, and the possible ripple effects across various dimensions of your organisations operation and performance.
Finally, as a leader, you need to briefly appraise your organisations capability (relevant knowledge/skills) and capacity (available time/resources) to respond to these issues and/or to take advantage of the opportunities.
We recommend that you present your analysis in a table, or through the use of figures. Always remember to provide a short summary, and a discussion of the key content of your tables/ figures in the body of your paper.
This section should be approximately 400 words.
Conclusion
Provide a very brief summary of your overall conclusions about the proposed policy based on your analysis, including whether your analysis suggests that the implementation of the proposed policy is likely to be beneficial or overall detrimental to your organisation. You may like to offer some specific critical reflections on the sorts of decision-making challenges yourself as a leader, and your organisation, are now facing.
This section should be approximately 150 words.
References
A list of all references used in your assignment.(Note: references are not included in the word count).
Key Readings for this Assessment Buse, K., Mays, N., Colombini, M., Fraser, A., Khan, M., & Walls, H. (2023) Chapter 1: Frameworks for Health Policy Analysis. In Making Health Policy, 3e. McGraw Hill.
Ginter, P. M., Duncan J. W., & Swane, L. E. (2018). Resource 1: Analysing Strategic Health Care Cases in Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations, Wiley, 431-424.
McConnell, A. (2010). Policy Success, Policy Failure and Grey Areas In-Between. Journal of Public Policy, 30(3), 345-362.
Additional Notes and Tips Tables and/or Figures
A maximum of 3 tables may be used per assignment, and each table may be a maximum size of 1 page. Although the guideline across the Leadership Program states that tables must be included in the word count,for this assignment (only) tables are not included in the word count; however, in academic writing, you must always provide a brief description/ summary of table key content AND a discussion of your conclusions/ take-aways pertaining to that content, in the body of your paper. If you fail to do this, you will not be able to gain maximum marks under the relevant Criterion, as you will not be able to demonstrate that you have discussed and made sense of the content; you will only have presented it.
Tips on Selecting the Right Policy/ Reform
Selecting a more narrowly defined policy will make it easier to undertake the analysis within the word count for this assignment. Broader, more high-level policies will be harder to analyse within this task.
List of Proposed/ Recent Health and Care Policies or Reforms List of Proposed/ Recent Health and Care Policies or Reforms
Below you will find a list of recently proposed real life policies or policies from jurisdictions that may not (yet) be applicable to your own jurisdiction. You may use the below news items to help you select a policy or reform that is relevant to your health or care context or your profession, or you may select something that is not on this list (note: if you wish to select a different proposed policy, please check your topic with your Unit Coordinator).
Importantly:news items do not take the place of academic references, and are not sufficient as references by themselves. Please use news items as a starting place for your thinking only. In this assignment, you must demonstrate your capacity to appropriately locate and use academic references to a postgraduate standard, as per expectations for other units and assignments in your course.
Primary care policies / reforms
Voluntary assisted dying and telehealth:https://theconversation.com/voluntary-assisted-dying-is-different-to-suicide-but-federal-laws-conflate-them-and-restrict-access-to-telehealth-223863Introduction of independent fee-setting:https://theconversation.com/medicare-turns-40-since-1984-our-health-needs-have-changed-but-the-system-hasnt-3-reforms-to-update-it-217264Major changes to Medicare funding:https://theconversation.com/health-budget-has-big-changes-reviving-our-worn-out-medicare-fee-for-service-system-and-boosting-bulk-billing-204527Acute and sub-acute healthcare policies / reforms
New cardiac arrest procedure (double sequential external defibrillation (DSED)):https://theconversation.com/a-new-emergency-procedure-for-cardiac-arrests-aims-to-save-more-lives-heres-how-it-works-221979Maternity care - same health provider during pregnancy, birth and beyond:https://theconversation.com/women-want-to-see-the-same-health-provider-during-pregnancy-birth-and-beyond-217803Maternity care implementation of the RESPECT toolkit and consent training:https://theconversation.com/1-in-10-women-report-disrespectful-or-abusive-care-in-childbirth-186827More equitable access to abortion:https://theconversation.com/australian-womens-access-to-abortion-is-a-postcode-lottery-heres-what-needs-to-change-206504Banning of mixed gender hospital rooms:https://theconversation.com/mixed-gender-hospital-rooms-are-on-the-rise-in-new-zealand-but-the-practice-is-unsafe-and-unethical-216263Rural health - federal and state co-commissioning of care:https://grattan.edu.au/news/how-to-prepare-for-the-next-pandemic/Strengthening the out-of-hospital care system:https://www.ama.com.au/media/millions-dollars-be-saved-reform-delivery-out-hospital-careIntroducing value-based healthcare:https://ahha.asn.au/news/operationalising-value-based-health-care-innovation-and-reform-australiaHealth disciplines / allied health policies and reforms
Paramedicine
New cardiac arrest procedure (double sequential external defibrillation (DSED)):https://theconversation.com/a-new-emergency-procedure-for-cardiac-arrests-aims-to-save-more-lives-heres-how-it-works-221979Child protection and paramedicine:https://theconversation.com/paramedics-could-sound-early-warnings-of-child-abuse-or-neglect-but-they-need-support-and-more-training-197900Pharmacy
Pharmacy-prescribing:https://theconversation.com/now-you-can-get-uti-antibiotics-from-pharmacies-without-prescription-heres-what-to-know-224962
Dental
Including dental care under Medicare:https://theconversation.com/medicare-turns-40-since-1984-our-health-needs-have-changed-but-the-system-hasnt-3-reforms-to-update-it-217264(and another) Including dental care under Medicare:https://theconversation.com/reform-delay-causes-dental-decay-its-time-for-a-national-deal-to-fund-dental-care-217914
(and another) Universal dental care:https://grattan.edu.au/news/reform-delay-causes-dental-decay/Pathology and Radiology
Changes to the uncapped fee-for-service model for pathology and radiology:https://theconversation.com/medicare-turns-40-since-1984-our-health-needs-have-changed-but-the-system-hasnt-3-reforms-to-update-it-217264Psychology
Changes to the psychology training pipeline and funding mechanisms:https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-mark-butler-mp/media/building-the-workforce-to-make-mental-health-care-more-available-and-equitable
Disability care policies / reforms
Workforce and funding:https://theconversation.com/states-agreed-to-share-foundational-support-costs-so-why-the-backlash-against-ndis-reforms-now-226620Eligibility for over 65s:https://theconversation.com/should-people-who-had-disability-before-they-turned-65-be-allowed-to-become-ndis-participants-after-65-we-asked-5-experts-216740Mandatory registration of NDIS service providers:https://grattan.edu.au/news/people-with-disability-deserve-choice/
Aged care policies / reforms
Workforce reforms:https://theconversation.com/who-will-look-after-us-in-our-final-years-a-pay-rise-alone-wont-solve-aged-care-workforce-shortages-225898Upcoming/recent reforms:https://theconversation.com/changes-are-coming-for-australias-aged-care-system-heres-what-we-know-so-far-222757Major funding reforms:https://theconversation.com/the-aged-care-budget-delivers-for-workers-but-meeting-our-future-needs-will-require-bold-funding-reforms-205021(and another on major funding reforms):https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-12/baby-boombers-to-pay-more-for-aged-care-reform/103573930Performance targets for resident vaccination rates:https://grattan.edu.au/news/dropping-the-ball-on-vaccination/
Health workforce / people and culture / sustainability policies and reforms
Public record of sexual misconduct by Australian health practitioners:https://theconversation.com/choosing-a-new-doctor-their-sexual-misconduct-may-soon-be-on-the-record-223082Relaxing the vaccine mandate for health workers:https://theconversation.com/nsw-may-end-its-covid-vaccine-mandate-for-health-workers-that-doesnt-mean-it-was-a-bad-idea-in-the-first-place-226732Recruitment rebrand:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-09/canberra-health-services-rebrand-to-attract-staff/103680626Working from home policies (applicable to non-clinical staff):https://theconversation.com/working-from-home-can-make-us-healthier-and-happier-employers-benefit-too-heres-the-evidence-if-you-need-any-convincing-224510Health professionals assaulted at work further support for police reports and investigations:https://theconversation.com/i-was-told-to-return-to-work-as-soon-as-i-regained-consciousness-why-only-a-third-of-assaulted-nurses-report-it-to-police-2172884-day work week:https://theconversation.com/a-4-day-week-might-not-work-in-health-care-but-adapting-this-model-could-reduce-burnout-among-staff-213554Introduction of sexual safety standards:https://theconversation.com/doctors-are-being-sexually-harassed-at-work-this-needs-to-stop-214264Creating a safe environment for health worker mental health disclosure:https://theconversation.com/should-you-tell-your-boss-about-your-mental-illness-heres-what-to-weigh-up-200907Changes to night shift policies, including rotating shift work:https://theconversation.com/why-does-night-shift-increase-the-risk-of-cancer-diabetes-and-heart-disease-heres-what-we-know-so-far-190652Environmentally sustainable healthcare practices:https://ahha.asn.au/partnership-to-propel-environmentally-sustainable-healthcare-practices-in-australia/Public and preventive health policies / reforms
AI and precision prevention:https://theconversation.com/treatments-tailored-to-you-how-ai-will-change-nz-healthcare-and-what-we-have-to-get-right-first-219594Decriminalisation of drugs, overdoses and impact on health services:https://theconversation.com/when-oregon-decriminalised-drugs-overdoses-went-up-will-that-happen-in-the-act-216736Reforms to assist preparation for the next pandemic - further investment in prevention of chronic disease, and rapid access to vaccinations:https://grattan.edu.au/news/how-to-prepare-for-the-next-pandemic/Closing the vaccination gap:https://grattan.edu.au/report/a-fair-shot-ensuring-all-australians-can-get-the-vaccines-they-need/
Child protection
The upEND movement/ model to reform child protection:https://theconversation.com/our-child-protection-system-is-clearly-broken-is-it-time-to-abolish-it-for-a-better-model-200716A raft of investment changes and early intervention reforms to child protection are discussed in this article (note: recommendation to select only one of these recommended reforms/ changes to focus on for your assignment):https://theconversation.com/the-workforce-in-the-child-protection-system-needs-urgent-reform-180950
Youth justice
Replacing youth detention/incarceration with a community-based rehabilitative youth justice program:https://theconversation.com/australia-could-alleviate-its-youth-justice-crisis-by-importing-the-right-ideas-from-the-us-74535Music programs in youth detention:https://theconversation.com/how-a-healthy-community-should-be-how-music-in-youth-detention-can-create-new-futures-227684
