Abstract
The purpose of this presentation is to compare outcomes for states that had full practice authority (FPA) for NPs to those that do not.
The aim of this study was to examine the impact of FPA on patient outcomes. A principal factor in the excess mortality rate of the U.S. is the health disparities that exist in this country, which are influenced by the social determinants of health.
CDC and NIH data were utilized after the official end of the Covid 19 pandemic mortality rates, utilization of services and health status were used to compare states that had full practice authority in 2018 to those who did not. Using SPSS version 29, a comparison of the means was calculated by independent samples T tests.
Notes
Reference list included in attached slide deck.
Sigma Membership
Upsilon Beta
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Policy and Advocacy, Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Public and Community Health, Nurse Practitioners, Medical Practice, Health Outcome Assessment
Recommended Citation
Sanchez, Cynthia, "NP Full Practice Authority: Does Increasing Access to High Quality Care Make a Difference?" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 309.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/309
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-09-25
NP Full Practice Authority: Does Increasing Access to High Quality Care Make a Difference?
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The purpose of this presentation is to compare outcomes for states that had full practice authority (FPA) for NPs to those that do not.
The aim of this study was to examine the impact of FPA on patient outcomes. A principal factor in the excess mortality rate of the U.S. is the health disparities that exist in this country, which are influenced by the social determinants of health.
CDC and NIH data were utilized after the official end of the Covid 19 pandemic mortality rates, utilization of services and health status were used to compare states that had full practice authority in 2018 to those who did not. Using SPSS version 29, a comparison of the means was calculated by independent samples T tests.
Description
NPs often provide care for vulnerable populations in the U.S. NP full practice authority was correlated with a decrease in the overall mortality rate due to Covid-19 in those states with NP full practice authority (p=.001) a decrease in unnecessary hospitalizations of Medicare patients (p=.001) and an increase in persons having a regular source of health care (p=.006) were also correlated with full practice authority. It is our duty as nurses to advocate for policies that reduce disparities.