FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ohio Study on Nurses’ Voting Behaviors Helps Shape Future Actions by Nursing Organizations

Ohio – [December 2024] – Nurse researchers from northeast Ohio released the results of their groundbreaking, multi-year study about voting behavior of licensed nurses in Ohio. “Influence begins at the ballot box,” said the study’s lead researcher, Ruth E. Ludwick. PhD, RN-BC, APRN-CNS, FAAN of the Department of Nursing, Kent State University. “My colleagues and I wanted to compare voting activity and party affiliation of licensed practical nurses (LPNs), registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to help us find ways to increase nurses’ involvement in this fundamental component of civic engagement—voting.”

Health care is a highly regulated industry, with many of those laws and rules coming from federal and state lawmakers. The policies they enact affect every aspect of nurses’ practice. Despite the important role policymakers play, nurses continue to be under-represented in board rooms and hearing rooms.

The study found the number of Ohio licensed nurses who are registered to vote and cast a ballot was higher than the overall population for general elections conducted between 2020-2023. However, given the importance of public policy decisions to nurses’ both professionally and personally, one would expect the percentages to be higher. “Around 71% of licensed nurses are registered to vote; however, that means one in four nurses are not,” said Dr. Ludwick.

“Clearly, there is more work to be done to increase nurses’ awareness of the role policymakers play in their practices and to help them develop the skills they need to be more influential in crafting the actual policies being put forth,” says ANA-Ohio Executive Director Tiffany Bukoffsky, MHA, BSN, RN. Voting is the first step in the process. “Nursing professional organizations are key to providing the accessible and realistic opportunities nurses need to become more effective policy influencers and voters. This study is a starting point. But it cannot end here”.

Professional nursing organizations are a vital part of the envisioned change. ANA-Ohio, a newly formed state constituent association of the American Nurses Association has taken

that responsibility seriously. “During its relatively short existence, ANA-Ohio conceived and hosted the first nurse led public policy hackathon at Miami University where nurses and non-nurses from across the state came together to develop innovative policy-based solutions to problems they encounter in their practice settings”, Bukoffsky added. Nineteen teams presented their proposals to a panel of judges, some of whom were legislators who then encouraged them to bring their ideas to the General Assembly. Recently, during the ANA-Ohio Annual Meeting, the Jeri Milstead Public Policy Symposium focused on innovations that are or will change the way nurses provide care to their patients. “From the Sky to the Statehouse” explored the public policy challenges that both foster and impede change.

The next step in preparing nurses to take on a more visible and impactful role in policy making is ANA-Ohio’s 2025 Nurse Policy Influencers Bootcamp beginning in February. The first cohort of participants will spend several months learning the ins and outs of policy making and experience first-hand how the process actually functions. The bootcamp graduates will help mentor future boot campers and help build the sustainable skills and insights needed to move from observer to doer.

The data from the study on nurses’ voting behaviors will help inform the strategies ANA-Ohio develops in conjunction with other nursing organizations to not only convince more nurses to register to vote and actually vote, but also to have a more visible and influential presence at the policy table.

About American Nurses Association-Ohio:

The American Nurses Association – Ohio (ANA-Ohio) is the trusted professional registered nurses’ association that is dedicated to promoting excellence in nursing practice, fostering high standards of nursing care, and advocating for the rights and interests of nurses across Ohio. Through education, advocacy, leadership, resources, and support, ANA-Ohio aims to empower nurses to improve health care.

Media Contact:

Tiffany Bukoffsky, Executive Director, ANA-Ohio, director@ana-ohio.org

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