Change in Policy to Improve the Public’s Health
Introduction
Today’s public health sector has majorly been transformed through various policy changes. In recent years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have initiated more than ten policy changes (Pollack et al., 2018). These have been listed and referred to as Great public Health Achievements. These changes addressed issues ranging from maternal and infant health to tobacco control among many others. With these changes, the USA’s life expectancy increased by 30 years to 76.8 years at the turn of the millennium as compared to 47.3 years in 1900 (Pollack et al., 2018). There are also many other positives to report. Therefore, these positive impacts underline the role of policy changes in public health. However, much has not been covered regarding the policy cycle model. It is a crucial element in the formulation and implementation of a successful policy change. The paper addresses in detail how a model can be applied in the implementation of a policy change with a specific focus on taxation of sugared products.
Policy Cycle
The policy cycle is the ideal process that helps in explaining how a policy will be drafted implemented and evaluated. There are various guiding principles of an effective policy cycle model. However, the paper will focus on the six stages involved in policy change. When planning to initiate taxation on the sugared products several steps will be involved. The first stage would be agenda-setting. This stage involves foresight and identification of emerging issues (Jann & Wegrich, 2017). Here, there is a need to gather scientific input on the sugared products and its consumption and effects in the community. A change proposal is then formulated. The approval or the role of the government is also crucial at this stage. The second stage is the formulation of the policy change. It will involve structuring the goals, costs, implications, and the impacts on stakeholders (Jann & Wegrich, 2017). This can be done scientifically through impact assessment.
The third stage is the adoption of the proposal once the government or the parliament has approved it. The role of other external scientists or policymakers can be sorted at this stage (Jann & Wegrich, 2017). Implementation of the policy would be the fourth and one of the most crucial stages in the cycle. This can be done after there is an assurance of the resources. The monitoring process is also crucial as it assures whether the intended goals of the policy are being addressed (Jann & Wegrich, 2017). Evaluation of the policy or program would be the fifth stage. It involves assessing the effectiveness and impacts of the process and the risks that may occur. The last stage is the support and maintenance. With feedback from those impacted by the policy change, there can be a crisis response to ensure that the program is impacted to meet its goals effectively.
I would argue that the increase in taxes or taxation of the sugared products would increase the price and hence reducing the consumption rate within the community. This would help achieve public health issues such as the control of diabetes, obesity, and other sugar-related complications. According to the World Health Organization, an increase in taxes by 20% can reduce the consumption rates by the same percentage (WHO, 2017). Therefore, it should be considered an effective intervention. Opponents of this intervention argue that the increase in costs reduces the demand for the products and impacts on the revenue stream (Wright et al., 2017). To get buy-in, I would demonstrate to the various stakeholders on how this intervention is effective in the long-term. I would argue that despite the decrease in revenues of these products, the long-term effects on the economy would be significant. Considering the high amounts of health budget used in the treatment of sugar-related conditions, there is a need to reduce its consumption and save a significant amount of money. The intervention needs stakeholder such as government agencies in the health sector and the various community leaders.
Conclusion
Implementation of the above intervention would be vital in fighting against sugar-related diseases. However, there might be challenges especially issues such as politics and resistance. Nevertheless, engaging the stakeholders and demonstrating the impacts of the policy change increase the support for the intervention.
References
Jann, W., & Wegrich, K. (2017). Theories of the policy cycle. In Handbook of public policy analysis (pp. 19-88). Routledge. https://www.dphu.org/uploads/attachements/books/books_3397_0.pdf#page=70
Pollack Porter, K. M., Rutkow, L., & McGinty, E. E. (2018). The importance of policy change for addressing public health problems. Public Health Reports, 133(1_suppl), 9S-14S. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0033354918788880
World Health Organization. (WHO) (2017). Taxes on sugary drinks: Why do it? (No. WHO/nmh/pnd/16.5 Rev. 1). World Health Organization. Pp. 1-4. Retrieved from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/260253/who-nmh-pnd-16.5Rev.1-eng.pdf
Wright, A., Smith, K. E., & Hellowell, M. (2017). Policy lessons from health taxes: a systematic review of empirical studies. BMC public health, 17(1), 583. Retrieved from: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-017-4497-z