Factors That Will Promote Getting This Advocacy Priority on the Agenda

Factors That Will Promote Getting This Advocacy Priority on the Agenda

The class resources outline various contextual factors that can foster my advocacy priority and enhance mental health fairness through policymaking. According to Dawes (2020), while emphasizing political timing and stakeholder coalitions, building alliances with powerful forces such as the National Working Group on Health Disparities can magnify efforts at advocacy by the power of collective expertise and public backing, which, in turn, can enhance the transition of health policies like the Affordable Care Act. In addition, putting the priority in line with today's political climates that are sensitive to the increase in awareness of mental health post-pandemic will allow for a 'policy window' (Kingdon's model) of agenda-setting opportunities by utilizing a proactive strategy of timing and public demands (Porche, 2023).

 Porche (2023),  highlights the role of evidence and policymaker engagement in policy formulation. When presented to the policymakers, strong data shows that due to mental health disparities, marginalized groups have higher rates of suicide, an indication of the fact that more legislative representation is necessary (Dawes, 2020). The credibility and influence of the intervention are backed by nursing and healthcare professionals since they can be their advocates with their frontline experience. Supportive legislative leadership or a focus of a committee on health equity, as during the ACA debates (Jindal et al., 2023), can also prioritize mental health equity by bringing it into line with broader health reform priorities.

Factors That Might Work Against It

Several contextual factors might hinder placing mental health equity on the agenda. Political opposition and competing priorities are significant barriers, such as the Tea Party's opposition to ACA reforms (Dawes, 2020). If there is similar resistance from fiscal conservatives as well as those who prioritize economic issues above social programs, mental health initiatives could be undervalued. Porche (2023), describes how policy analysis that shows high costs or infeasibility could prevent support when mental health equity requires high costs or changes to infrastructure. Also, there are stakeholders whose interests are fragmented, or the media is barely paying attention, which can limit visibility and urgency and stall agenda inclusion (Dawes, 2020). It means that the issue of equal access is influenced by several policymaking factors, which create different challenges to society's well-being and healthy living