In most cases, health issues are usually too complex for individual advocacy. In such cases, healthcare practitioners see it effective to establish a coalition to help in advancing policies and practices. This paper discusses the idea behind coalition building from a nursing perspective. It further differentiates effective strategies of coalition building that serve as vital in shaping health policy in nursing practice environments.
Contemporary nurses practice in a period of major health care reforms. Such situations require nurses with the ability to influence both political and professional entities. These efforts would call for effective coalition-building strategies. Coalitions are temporary alliances of groups in the achievement of a common purpose. This process involves the union of groups with similar interests and goals for increased advocacy. Either way, successful coalitions consider establishing themselves around similar goals, group dynamics, and the benefits of coalescing (Hinshaw and Grady, 2011). The following strategies, therefore, fit the need for effective coalition building from a nursing perspective.
First, coalition building should involve a well-defined purpose statement. This development is primary to any group of stakeholders. In nursing practice, the strategy would involve merging the basic interests of different groups for mutual understanding. Ideally, nurses should never assume their organization’s missions since every interested party has its reason for collaboration. Therefore, any clear mission should focus on the desired results, the scope of work, and activities to be accomplished (Bodenheimer and Grumbach, 2012).
The second most important strategy in coalition building is the establishment of a timely outreach and effective communication base. In this capacity, any successful coalition would depend on how effective communication channels touch on all members’ needs. Communication enhances the extent upon which individual parties share information and build connections for the foundation of viable partnerships. From a nursing perspective, this strategy ensures that nurses are aware of the clinical problem as well as suggested solutions. These solutions come from individual contributions to collective communication (McKay and Hewlett, 2009).
The third strategy idealizes the importance of being creative about and during meetings. Nurses and other health workers will often feel like they spend a huge part of their profession in health-related meetings for capacity building. However, coalition building meetings could take on a different approach if they included creativity. Some of the possible ideas under this banner include responsibility rotation, reducing the number of meetings, and rotating themes. This strategy ensures that members make exciting presentations that would increase the effectiveness of the coalition (McKay and Hewlett, 2009).
The fourth strategy involves recognizing and acknowledging diversity among the stakeholders. In this case, diversity cuts across racial differences into age, professional, organizational, and gender differences. Ideally, a successful coalition should most probably mirror the diversity present in participatory organizations. However, the diversity should present a connection in such a way that members are bound to reach an eventual decision. For instance, a coalition of the professional nurses’ and health insurance organizations should be able to agree on an appropriate representation (SAMHSA-HRSA, 2013).
Furthermore, coalition building should focus on members being participatory and inclusive in almost all processes. Groups that observe such values have a high chance of attracting and retaining members. In nursing practice environments, such groups would try their best to involve members in vision and mission generation as well as strategizing on major decisions. Ideally, the more members feel part of the coalition, the more they will be willing to push for the ultimate organizational achievement (SAMHSA-HRSA, 2013).
Finally, follow-ups are essential in building credibility given coalition building. Beck, Gately, Lubin, Moody, and Beverly (2014) suggest that successful coalitions in healthcare should constantly look into ways of enhancing their collectivist processes. For instance, a coalition of nurses and physicians in practice should consider monitoring the extent of inter-professional collaboration. Therefore, coalitions should exist in a way that members have the ability to rate the group based on its leadership, workflow, and decision-making abilities (Beck et al., 2014).
References
Beck, C., Gately, K., Lubin, S., Moody, P., & Beverly, C. (2014). Building a State Coalition for Nursing Home Excellence. The Gerontologist, 54 (1), S87-S97.
Bodenheimer, T., & Grumbach, K. (2012). Understanding health policy: A clinical approach (6th ed.). San Francisco, CA: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing.
Hinshaw, A., & Grady, P. (2011). Shaping Health Policy through Nursing Research. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
McKay, M. L., & Hewlett, P. O. (2009). Grassroots coalition building: lessons from the field. Journal of Professional Nursing, 25 (6), 352-357.
SAMHSA-HRSA. (2013). Coalitions and Community Health: Integration of Behavioral Health and Primary Care . Washington, DC: Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America.
