Nursing and Midwifery's Impact on Health Policy Development: A Literature Review.
David Stewart, Kathleen Baird, Jill White and 1 others
PMID 40667746WHAT IT FOUND
Education alone does not increase nurses' and midwives' actual participation in health policy.
Barriers like power imbalances, gender dynamics, and lack of organizational support persist. Strategies must include professional association membership and systemic changes to address these structural issues.
Key findings
01Nurses and midwives are consistently underrepresented in health policymaking across various socioeconomic, demographic, and cultural contexts.
02While education improves nurses' confidence and willingness to engage in policy, it does not necessarily lead to greater actual involvement in policy and advocacy activities.
03Barriers include societal factors (power differential with physicians, gender biases), organizational factors (lack of time, support, and resources), and professional factors (lack of policy knowledge and experience).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review is based on literature from 2013-2023, which may not capture very recent changes. Only English-language articles were included, potentially introducing geographic and cultural bias. The screening was conducted by a single reviewer, which may introduce selection bias. The review notes a lack of empirical data in the included studies regarding actual participation rates and the effectiveness of interventions. It is a narrative review, not a systematic review with meta-analysis, so findings are descriptive rather than quantitatively pooled.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study did not involve primary data collection or interactions with participants.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that providing nurses with more policy education will automatically lead to their increased participation in health policy. The review found that while education boosts confidence, structural barriers like power imbalances, lack of time, and organizational support must be addressed for actual engagement to occur.