How to be a Successful Advocate

Top 10 tips for advocacy:
1. get to know your legislators well (district, voting records, etc.)
2. establish a relationship (try making an introduction before you need their help)
3. get to know the legislator's staff that handles your issue of concern
4. learn about legislative or administrative process
5. identify fellow advocates and partners
6. be open to negotiation (compromise)
7. be polite and remember "thank-yous"
8. be honest straightforward and realistic (don't make promises you can't keep)
9. timing is everything (contact as early as possible)
10. be sure to follow up with legislator and staff (thank yous and information)

Public Health Policy/Advocacy

Public Health Advocacy Process: The What
- Framing the problem - stories, pictures, metaphors, and data depicting the impact on people
- Creating the vision: What it would be like if the problem did not exist
- Describing the solutions - examples
- Requesting the action
- Confirming the response
- Follow-up

Public Health Advocacy Process: The Opportunity
- Researching opportunities - focus on the informal one
-Linking to policy's makers interests and schedule
- Orchestrating the moment
-Planning the next opportunity

Key: Forming a relationship between representative and constituent

Public Policy

Public Policy Goals:

Equity: Treating likes alike (who is not?) who is out?
Liberty: ability to do as you wish as long as you do not harm to others
Security: satisfaction of minimum human needs
Efficiency: getting the most output for  given input

Is equity always fair? NO

Equity: Horizontal and Vertical

Liberty: What harms to individuals should trigger restraints on liberty?
What harms to communities, organizations, groups should trigger restraints on liberty?
Whose liberty should be curtailed, and by how much, and for how long?

Security: Some dimensions of need
- protecting one's whole identity vs. simple survival
-Measured according to an absolute standard or relative one, comparing one with another
- Meet immediate needs only, or enable people to fulfill broader needs

Public Health Policy/Advocacy

Public Health Policy is when an organization and/or individual makes the choice to "push" for a cause.  it is about making choices and having a strong belief that something can change.

Do you think that the Health Care Reform: Patient Protection Act is in a status quote?  If yes, what is your opinion on it?

Quality Improvement: Cultural & Linguistic Competence and Health Care: 8 Tips To Improving Communication Among Health Car...

Quality Improvement: Cultural & Linguistic Competence and Health Care: 8 Tips To Improving Communication Among Health Car...: "Too often we hear organizations, hospitals, practitioners, and families wondering about effective ways to improving communication between pr..."