Mary Lipsky has worked for a visiting nurseassociation in a large urban area for 2 years. She is responsiblefor a wide variety of services, including caring for older andchronically ill clients recently discharged from hospitals, newmothers and babies, mental health clients, and clients withlong-term health problems, such as chronic wounds.
Daily when she leaves the field to go home, she findsthat she continues to think about her clients. She keeps going overthese and other questions in her mind: Why is it so difficult formothers and new babies to qualify for and receive SpecialSupplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children(WIC) services? Why must she limit the number of visits and lengthof service for clients with chronic wounds? Why are so few servicesavailable for clients with behavioral health problems? Inparticular, she thinks about the burdens and challenges thatfamilies and friends face in caring for the sick at home.
A. Why might it be difficult to solve these problemsat the individual level, on a case-by-case basis?
B. What information would you need to build anunderstanding of the policy background for each of these variouspopulations?
