The question asked in my healthcare policy class is: Discuss how social visibility and financial cost impact healthcare policy.

An example of from our lesson is AIDS became a very visible social issue. Urinary incontinence, although epidemic, has a cultural barrier to social visibility. Socially, it is unacceptable to be unable to hold your urine so many of those who suffer from this problem take personal measures or change their lifestyles to accommodate the condition. Nurses who identify healthcare issues that may be very visible or invisible can begin calling attention to the issue through an evaluation of the current available literature. Finding gaps in research presents an opportunity to establish a research or evidence-based practice project to begin finding problem solutions. Once the outcomes of the research or evidence-based practice project supports the problem, the dissemination of the information in multiple venues becomes important to create visibility and urgency for change.