Arizona Nurses Association Member Involvement in Public Policy

The purpose of the study was to determine the level and type of public policy involvement among registered nurses (RN) who are members of the Arizona Nurses Association (AzNA). Furthermore, the aim of the study was to identify the knowledge base and motivation of nurses and their involvement in public policy as well as the barriers and benefits. A 20- item survey was sent to all of the members of AzNA. There were 39 responses used in the analysis. The highest reported public policy activities in which the nurses had participated were: voted (90%), contacted a public official (51%), and gave money to a campaign or for a public policy concern (46%). Lack of time was the most frequently reported barrier to involvement and improving the health of the public was the most frequently reported benefit to involvement. The number of public policy education/information sources and the highest level of education positively correlate to the nurses' total number of public policy activities (r = .627 p <0.05; r = .504, p <0.05). Based on the results of stepwise linear regression analysis, the participants' age, number of education/information sources, and efficacy expectation predict 68.8% of involvement in public policy activities. The greater the number of education/information sources, the greater the number of public policy activities nurses report having participated in.