Policies on COVID-19, Special Interest Groups, and Advocacy and Civic Engagement

Public Policy, Advocacy, and Lobbying
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Special Interest Groups and Public Policy
In the United States, democracy comes in all forms. One evident form of democracy is public policy, which is defined as a proposal coming from an institution or a set of elements similar to laws, protocols, activities, or regulations that are created to solve problems facing the country or the world as a whole (Waterhouse, 2013). For further emphasis, public policies are mostly implemented and guided by perceptions and specific programs that may be societal, political, or economic in nature. Public policy involves a process composed of several phases; problem identification, policy making, agenda setting, budgeting, implementation, and evaluation (Laits, 2020). Problem identification involves the expression of particular dissatisfaction in a set policy, where it is expressed by individuals or groups like the media, specific political parties, or special interest groups. Then, the agenda is set by finding alternatives to policies and set protocols (Laits, 2020). This finding of alternatives involves passing through the presidential, political system, and congressional agendas (Laits, 2020). Policy making follows where the policies are created to cater for the problems identified, and budgeting occurs, then implementation of the policies, and lastly, evaluation where several players assess the outcomes involved with the policy formulated.
Healthcare Policies: Advocacy and Civic Engagement
Lobbying is an important process in creating public policy, and special interest groups take up this task (Waterhouse, 2013). Special interest groups are an organization of people with shared ideas and attitudes who attempt to influence public policy. Lobbying involves a set of special interest groups that try to get laws passed or stop laws from getting passed (WarnerJordanEducation, 2013). Lobbyists can either be liberal or conservative, where they try to lobby public policy of specific interest by educating the public, influencing legislation through lobbying, endorsing or rejecting candidates nominated by political parties, conducting campaigns designed to promote or oppose decisions, and widening its base of support to increase pressure on co...