NR 506 Week 2 Discussion, Policy-Priority Selection

Identify your selected healthcare concern in your city or state that needs your advocacy with an elected official. What is the impetus and rationale for your selection? Describe the model of policy making that you feel would be best applied to your policy concern and the rationale for selecting this model According to Humphrey and Wigelsworth (2016), one in ten children and adolescents are affected by mental health difficulties and 50 percent begin in childhood or adolescence. Early intervention is important and can prevent progression or deterioration of mental health. School is a place great place to begin mental health screenings due to the familiar setting for the children, children begin school early in life, and it is a more accessible place to implement intervention strategies. 12.5% of adolescents in the United States were found to have major depressive episode in 2015 and the second leading cause of death among adolescents is suicide according to Bhatta, Champion, Young and Loika (2018). Bhatta et al. (2018) conducted a study screening adolescents, ages twelve to eighteen, for depression and of the 143 students, 22 percent were referred for mental health services.