USW1 NURS 6050 Agenda Comparison Grid Assignment for Healthcare Policy Analysis

Nursing students often search for complete guides and templates to analyze presidential healthcare agendas and create fact sheets on population health concerns in policy courses.

Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet

It may seem to you that healthcare has been a national topic of debate among political leaders for as long as you can remember. Thinking about how these discussions affect everyday patient care can make the topic feel more personal and urgent.

Healthcare has been a policy item and a topic of debate not only in recent times but as far back as the administration of the second U.S. president, John Adams. In 1798, Adams signed legislation requiring that 20 cents per month of a sailor’s paycheck be set aside for covering their medical bills. This represented the first major piece of U.S. healthcare legislation, and the topic of healthcare has been woven into presidential agendas and political debate ever since. Today’s evolving policies continue to draw from historical precedents while addressing contemporary challenges like access and equity.

As a healthcare professional, you may be called upon to provide expertise, guidance and/or opinions on healthcare matters as they are debated for inclusion into new policy. You may also be involved in planning new organizational policy and responses to changes in legislation. For all of these reasons you should be prepared to speak to national healthcare issues making the news. Engaging with current events through professional networks keeps your insights fresh and relevant.

In this Assignment, you will analyze recent presidential healthcare agendas. You also will prepare a fact sheet to communicate the importance of a healthcare issue and the impact on this issue of recent or proposed policy.

Resources

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity. Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.

WEEKLY RESOURCES

To Prepare:

• Review the agenda priorities of the current/sitting U.S. president and at least one previous presidential administration. Tip: You can locate presidential agenda information by searching Google for your health topic and the president. For example, mental health Obama presidential agenda. Recent administrations have increasingly focused on integrating technology for better health outcomes.
• Select an issue related to healthcare that was addressed by two U.S. presidential administrations (current and previous).
• Consider how you would communicate the importance of a healthcare issue to a legislator/policymaker or a member of their staff for inclusion on an agenda.
• Use your Week 1 Discussion post to help with this assignment.

The Assignment: (1- to 2-page Comparison Grid, 1-Page Analysis, and 1-page narrative) with a title page. This is an APA paper. Use 2-3 course resources and at least 2 outside resources.

Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid

Use the Agenda Comparison Grid Template found in the Learning Resources and complete the Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid based on the current/sitting U.S. president and the previous president, and their agendas related to the population health concern you selected. Be sure to address the following:

• Identify and provide a brief description of the population health concern you selected.
• Explain how each of the presidential administrations approached the issue. Modern approaches often incorporate data analytics to measure policy effectiveness.
• Identify the allocation of resources that the presidents dedicated to this issue.

Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis

Using the information you recorded in Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid on the template, complete the Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis portion of the template, by addressing the following:

• Which administrative agency (like HHS, CDC, FDA, OHSA) would most likely be responsible for helping you address the healthcare issue you selected and why is this agency the most helpful for the issue?
• How do you think your selected healthcare issue might get on the presidential agenda? How does it stay there? Public campaigns and social media now play key roles in sustaining attention on issues.
• An entrepreneur/champion/sponsor helps to move the issue forward. Who would you choose to be the entrepreneur/champion/sponsor (this can be a celebrity, a legislator, an agency director, or others) of the healthcare issue you selected and why would this person be a good entrepreneur/ champion/sponsor? An example is Michael J. Fox is champion for Parkinson’s disease.

Part 3: Fact Sheet

Using the information recorded on the template in Parts 1 and 2, develop a 1-page fact sheet that you could use to communicate with a policymaker/legislator or a member of their staff for this healthcare issue. Be sure to address the following:

• Summarize why this healthcare issue is important and should be included in the agenda for legislation.
• Justify the role of the nurse in agenda setting for healthcare issues. Nurses bring frontline experiences that inform practical policy solutions.

Assignment document should include:

1. Title page
2. Introductory paragraph
3. Agenda comparison grid and analysis
4. Fact sheet
5. Summary/conclusions
6. References

By Day 7 of Week 2

Submit your final version of Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid, Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis, and Part 3: Narrative.

NURS_6050_Module01_Week02_Assignment_Rubric

Total Points: 100

Sample Answer Notes

Students select population health concerns like mental health and describe approaches by presidents such as Biden emphasizing access expansion and Trump focusing on deregulation. They detail resource allocations including funding for telehealth under recent administrations. Grids compare policies on opioid crisis with Biden’s increased SAMHSA budgets versus Trump’s declaration of public health emergency. Analyses identify HHS as key agency due to its oversight of public health programs. Fact sheets summarize issue importance for legislation and justify nurses’ advocacy roles based on clinical insights. Recent policies reflect ongoing commitments to equity in care delivery (Flaubert et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.17226/25982). Narratives conclude with calls for sustained investment in preventive services.

How do nursing students effectively complete agenda comparison grids for healthcare policy assignments? Effective completion involves selecting timely issues like mental health, drawing from credible sources such as National Academies reports that highlight nursing’s policy influence through case studies of advocacy in opioid response efforts. Data from CDC indicate that policy alignments across administrations have reduced overdose rates by 10 percent in targeted programs, underscoring the value of comparative analysis. Industry sites like AACN provide templates and examples that demonstrate nurses’ pivotal roles in shaping equitable health agendas.

References

• Collier, D.A. and Molina, M. (2026) ‘“We Want to Put Them in Trauma”: Understanding the Trump Administration’s Attack on Government Health Agency Regulatory Authority’, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 51(2), pp. 191-216. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-11065876.
• Cunningham, R. (2022) ‘Health systems and health equity: Advancing the agenda’, Nursing Outlook, 70(6), pp. S20-S24. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2022.05.009.
• Flaubert, J.L., Le Menestrel, S., Williams, D.R. and Wakefield, M.K. (2021) ‘The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity’, National Academies Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.17226/25982.
• Greer, S.L. (2025) ‘Trump’s second presidency begins: evaluating effects on the US health system’, BMJ Global Health, 10(1), e014567. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-014567.
• Zalon, M.L. (2024) ‘Strengthening Nurses’ Influence in Health Policy’, American Journal of Nursing, 124(9), pp. 44-48. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0001027724.88141.3f.

 

NURS 6050: Policy and Advocacy for Population Health

Module 1, Week 2 Assignment

Agenda Comparison Grid and Analysis Template

Student Name: _________________________________

Date: _________________________________________

Professor: ____________________________________

Instructions: Complete both parts of this template using the population health concern you selected. Use information from at least 2-3 course resources and 2 outside peer-reviewed sources. This completed template will form the basis for your Part 3 Fact Sheet and overall assignment narrative.

PART 1: AGENDA COMPARISON GRID
Population Health Concern
Identify the Population Health concern you selected.	(Enter the name of your selected health concern here)
Describe the Population Health concern you selected.	(Provide a brief description including prevalence, affected populations, and public health significance)
	Current Administration (President Name):	Previous Administration (President Name):
Administration (President Name)
Explain how each of the two presidential administrations approached the issue.
Identify the allocations of resources that the current and previous presidents dedicated to this issue.

 

PART 2: AGENDA COMPARISON GRID ANALYSIS
Using the information you recorded in Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid, complete the following to document information about the population health/healthcare issue you selected.
Administration: (Enter current administration name)
Which administrative agency (like HHS, CDC, FDA, OSHA) would most likely be responsible for helping you address the healthcare issue you selected?  Why is this agency the most helpful?	(Identify the agency and provide a thorough justification for why it is best suited to address this health concern)
How do you think your selected healthcare issue might get on the presidential agenda?  How does it stay there?	(Discuss factors such as public awareness, advocacy efforts, media attention, legislation history, and ongoing data/research that can elevate and sustain this issue on the agenda)
Who would you choose to be the entrepreneur/champion/sponsor of the healthcare issue you selected?  (This can be a celebrity, a legislator, an agency director, or others. Example: Michael J. Fox is a champion for Parkinson’s disease.)	(Name your chosen champion and justify why this person’s platform, influence, personal story, or professional role makes them an ideal advocate for your healthcare issue)

Notes / Additional Observations:

 

 

 

 

References (APA 7th Edition):

(List your 2-3 course resources and at least 2 outside peer-reviewed sources here in APA format)

• Develop a 1-2 page agenda comparison grid and analysis plus a 1-page fact sheet on healthcare issues across two presidential administrations in a 4-5 page APA paper.
• Contribute a minimum of 4-5 pages analyzing presidential approaches to population health concerns, including grid, narrative, and fact sheet in APA format.
• Analyze recent presidential healthcare agendas, prepare a comparison grid and fact sheet to communicate policy importance.

Refer to NURS_6050_Module01_Week02_Assignment_Rubric for detailed grading criteria on grid completeness, analysis depth, fact sheet quality, resources, and APA formatting.

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 Presidential Agendas in Nursing Policy

Presidential healthcare agendas evolve with public crises, such as Biden’s $1 billion ARP investment in mental health contrasting Trump’s 2025 Great Healthcare Plan prioritizing drug price transparency and deregulation. Nurses drive agenda-setting through advocacy, with studies showing their policy involvement reduces barriers in LMICs and U.S. contexts alike. Data from KFF indicates Trump’s executive orders shifted global health to “America First” models, impacting domestic population health strategies. Case studies like opioid response highlight CDC’s role, where nurse-led coalitions influenced sustained funding. Industry reports from PwC project 2026 reforms emphasizing flexibility will require nurse input for equitable implementation.

Learning Resources (Harvard Format)

• Khademi, M., Moradi, G., Soltanian, A., Heydari, A. and Esmaily, H., 2021. Factors influencing nurses participation in the health policy-making process: a systematic review. BMC Nursing, 20(59). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-021-00588-2.
• Antos, J., Das, P., Emanuel, E.J., Giled, S.A., Gustafson, E., Kocher, R., Milstein, A., Montague, T., Rajkumar, R., Sood, N. and Thier, S.O., 2025. Vital directions for health and health care: priorities for 2025. Health Affairs, 44(2), pp.1-12. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2024.01200.
• Patel, V., Saxena, S., Lund, C., Thornicroft, G., Baingana, F., Bolton, P., Chisholm, D., Collins, P.Y., Cooper, J.L., Eaton, J. and Herrman, H., 2018. The Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development. The Lancet, 392(10157), pp.1553-1598. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31612-X.
• Guth, M., Williams, E., Hinton, E. and Garfield, R., 2025. President Trump’s healthcare agenda: implications for Medicaid and population health. Kaiser Family Foundation. Available at: https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/overview-of-president-trumps-executive-actions-on-global-health/.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2025. President Donald Trump healthcare agenda. Available at: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/library/election-2024-trump-health-agenda.html.
• How to complete NURS 6050 Agenda Comparison Grid on Trump Biden healthcare agendas