American Academy of Nursing Releases Meeting Proceedings from 2022 May and June Policy Dialogues

Summaries of Expert-Led Discussions with Policy Recommendations Now Available

Washington, DC (March 15, 2023)—The American Academy of Nursing (Academy) has released the meeting proceeding summaries from the May and June 2022 Policy Dialogues, hosted by the Academy’s Expert Panels. The Policy Dialogues convene leaders to discuss a pressing topic and to develop policy recommendations that champion the Academy’s policy priorities.

Expert Panels are one of the major forces within the Academy for developing new knowledge to transform health policy. Through consensus building and collaboration, Academy Expert Panels advance evidence-based solutions to the most complex health care challenges. By hosting Policy Dialogues, Expert Panels lead engaging discussions to further enhance awareness and develop policy proposals that work to achieve the Academy's vision of healthy lives for all people.

The Academy is pleased to release the summaries for these Policy Dialogues:

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 in enhancing care delivery. Policy recommendations from this dialogue include:

• Enable nurses and other providers to practice to the top of their licensure across all continuums of care;
• Advance value-based and risk-bearing payment models that incorporate a nurse reimbursement model consistent with other professions;
• Increase investments in nursing through the Nursing Workforce Development Programs (Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act) and the National Institute of Nursing Research; and
• Allocate funding to implement experimental programs and spur innovation, especially those that serve to decrease the nursing workload.

Finding Gain in the Losses: Strategic Solutions to the Mental and Behavioral Health Crisis in Children and Youth
(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. Policy recommendations from this dialogue include:

• Remove barriers to practice for psychiatric nurse practitioners that limit their ability to work with children and families;
• Encourage school-based and nurse-led mental health intervention programs to encourage youth to connect with mental health resources earlier and more often;
• Fund research on how to improve outcomes and interventions for children and youth who have experienced adverse childhood experiences and continue to face adverse life events;
• Incorporate mental health into primary care services and screenings;
• Implement trauma-informed care principles into schools;
• Encourage partnerships between health professionals and communities to expand access to mental health resources; and
• Fund nurse home visit programs such as the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program.

The May and June 2022 Meetings Proceedings are available to view online. Learn more about the Academy’s Expert Panels.