In Nebraska between 2011 and 2013, legislators considered a staggering 1,795 bills related to scope of practice for all health professions. Of those, 349 were enacted. Now three researchers who are friends and allies of the Nebraska Action Coalition have produced a paper that analyzes the way decisions were made by various parties in the pitching, reviewing, and recommending of a bill.

“Informing Health Policy Decision Makers: A Nebraska Scope of Practice Case Study” is by Linda L. Lazure, PhD, RN; Mary E. Cramer, PhD, APHN-BC; and Katherine A. Hoebelheinrich, MSN, APRN-NP, ANP-BC. Lazure and Cramer are board members of the Nebraska Action Coalition’s executive committee; Hoebelheinrich, also a strong supporter of the Campaign for Action, recently hosted a webinar that reviewed Nebraska’s successful campaign to become the 20th state to grant full practice authority to advanced practice registered nurses.

No two states are alike, of course, but the paper lists actions that can be applied regardless of statutory review process and political landscape. For example, the paper looks at which sources of information decision-makers found most useful, and gives advice on ways to present information more effectively. As the authors write in the abstract, their findings “shed new light on what specific evidence submitted during a scope of practice review process is most valued for promoting the understanding of decision makers to effect change.”