Population health concern and Advocacy Overview
The discussion over the dissemination of the HPV vaccine presents is of the most controversial issues in the country. The issue also attracts debates on sexuality in children and compulsory vaccination for school going children. The politicized argument exists at a time when there are many people infected with the HPV virus. Such statistics play an important role in influencing this advocacy campaign. My policy proposal advocates for the dissemination of HPV vaccines to middle-school children. This campaign proposes an administration process that follows a two-time schedule. In the first round, the children will receive the first dose as they enter sixth grade. They will then receive the second dose just before seventh grade.
Ethical dilemmas that could arise during the advocacy campaign
The campaign identifies two ethical dilemmas that could arise during the campaign. These dilemmas include informed consent and the respect of vaccine recipients as autonomous individuals in the wake of the government’s mandatory vaccination campaign. In the first instance, some parents, religious organizations, and anti-vaccination lobbyists would not want their children to participate in the campaign. Therefore, they would partake in campaigns that advice other parents against giving similar consent. Second, professional nurses are aware that the HPV vaccine serves in the best interest of the target population. The profession binds them to serve every member of the population in ways that are of their best interest. However, the opposition from a section of the stakeholders would limit their role as patient advocates and open the doors for more ethical dilemmas (Walter, 2013).
Dilemma Resolution
The best way of resolving these dilemmas is through primary stakeholder education. Stakeholder education involves the active engagement of both members of the local government, parents, and religious organizations in a meeting aimed at discussion the benefits and risks of HPV vaccinations. This segment assumes that at the end of the day, the program leads would be able to show that the risks of non-vaccination outweigh those of vaccination.
Ethics and Lobbying Laws Applicable to the Advocacy Campaign
There are two main ethical codes that apply to this advocacy campaign, namely informed consent and the precautionary professional principle to commit no harm. The two concepts act as an ethical foundation for nurses to protect the rights of their patients. The "do no harm" principle is essential in the prevention of injuries and deaths related to clinical interventions. Contrarily, the informed consent issue looks at the ethics behind the completeness of access to information before undertaking an intervention (Stewart, 2014).
Many states allow for an exemption for spiritual beliefs for an individual to partake in government-funded vaccination programs. The exemption looks into protecting one’s belief on an individual and organizational capacity. There are special interest groups lobbying to have both governments to restrict and eliminate such laws. Others feel such actions would be unconstitutional since they interfere with one’s right of belief (Walter, 2013).
Ethical Challenge unique to the population of interest
The informed-consent principle forms a huge ethical challenge in this population. Informed consent means that the program will only become successful when the children meet three consenting conditions. First, the nursing staff offers the parents complete and precise information concerning the benefits and risks of the HPV vaccine campaign. Second, the parents should have the freedom to make voluntary decisions about whether or not their children will take the risk. Third, their nurse will not subject parents to sanctions, intimidation, harassment, and coercion (Stewart, 2014).
Summary
The HPV advocacy campaign determines the need for citizens to take part in encouraging the active administration of the HPV vaccine. The drug is essential in the control of an increasing number of people who contract the human papillomavirus. However, there are various issues in developing this policy. The campaign lobbyists have developed a process that will include all active stakeholders in the program’s implementation process for successful completion. This move shows that they acknowledge the support received from educating people about the incidence of the virus and the benefits of the HPV vaccine.
References
Stewart, A. (2014, June 6). Health Care Personnel Vaccination: State Legal and Regulatory Environment . Retrieved from National Council of State Boards of Nursing: https://www.ncsbn.org/2014DCM_AStewart.pdf
Walter, C. (2013). Ethical, Legal, and Economic Considerations Related to the Mandatory Administration of the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine. Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy, 27 (2), 611-635.
