Home versus Hospital Births Landscape of health policy analysis

The landscape section of a health policy analysis “provides the overall context for analysis by identifying key stakeholders and the factors that must be considered when analyzing the problem.” This is a critically important part of analyzing policy, so we focus on this in this specific case study.

1. First, provide a problem statement (phrased as a question) that sets the stage for your analysis, as it is critically important in a policy analysis and should be clearly articulated within the first couple of paragraphs. Provide a brief background on this problem for the client/reader, defining and detailing the key elements and issues of the problem to set the stage for your landscape.

2. Develop a landscape section for home versus hospital births utilizing all factors (political, social, economic, practical, legal, and quality of care) listed in Box 14-1 of the textbook. In your narrative, please address all questions/concerns in Box 14-1 Answer the questions in Box 14-1 in your text. Label the questions please.

Political Factors: – 1. What is the political salience of the issue? 2. Is this a front-burner issue? 3. Is this a controversial issue? 4. Are your client, legislators, and the general public interested in addressing this issue? 5. Has this or a similar healthcare issue been addressed recently? 6. Do key constituents, opponents, interest groups and so on have an opinion about the issue? Who is likely to support or oppose change? 7. Is there bipartisan support for the issue? 8. Is there a reason to act now? 9. Is there a reason to delay action?

Social Factors: 1. Who is affected by this problem? 2. According to the client who assigned the analysis, are influential or valued people or groups affected by this problem? 3. Is there a fairness concern relating to this issue? 4. Is there a stigma associated with this issue?

Economic Factors: 1. What is the economic impact of addressing and of not addressing this problem? 2. Are various people or groups impacted differently? 3. Are there competing demands for resources that relate to this issue? 4. What is the economic situation of the state or nation? How does this affect the politics relating to this issue? 5. How will addressing this issue affect healthcare costs/healthcare spending?

Practical Factors: 1. Is it realistic to try to solve this problem? 2. Do others need to be involved to be able to solve this problem? 3. Is the technology available to solve this problem? 4. Would it be more practical to solve this problem later? 5. Are other people in a better position to solve this problem? 6. What do we know about solutions that do or do not work? 7. If this problem cannot be solved, is it still necessary to act in some way to address the problem? 8. Is evidence available to support potential solutions?

Legal Factors: 1. Are there legal restrictions affecting this problem? 2. Is there a need to balance public health concerns and individual legal rights? 3. Are there legal requirements that impact the analysis? 4. Is new legislative authority necessary to solve the problem? 5. Is there legal certainty relating to this problem? 6. Is future litigation a concern if action is taken?

Quality-of-care factors: 1. Does this problem address quality-of-care issues? 2. Do some solutions focus on quality of care more than others? 3. Do quality-of-care concerns vary based on which provider is involved? 4. Is evidence available about the best ways to improve quality of care? 5. Has the client already taken any actions to improve quality of care?

So…I want you to give me an overview of home vs. hospital births. Which one would you recommend as a public health professional and why? Include an intro and conclusion! 2-4 pages (do not exceed 4 pages) Intro page and references do not count in page count