Advocacy (Influencing Outcomes): Information and Routes
The Process:
Get informed -- learn about the issues
Prioritize your issues -- decide your focus
Get informed --learn in-depth about your focus issues
Choose your battles -- individual-oriented or issue-oriented
Decide on strategies -- are your strengths letters, talking, money, transporting? Consider how participating in groups can amplify your voice.
Get active -- do what you have decided to do - pace yourself
Stay informed -- keep up-to-date on your focus issues (things change quickly!)
Organizations for getting informed (some are also action groups)
ADAPT – American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today http://www.adapt.org/
American Medical Women’s Association http://www.amwa-doc.org/Advocacy/advocacy.htm
Center for Health Care rights http://www.healthcarerights.org/
Electronic Policy Network member list (click “next” for additional pages) http://www.epn.org/members/index.html
Employee Benefits Research Institute http://www.ebri.org/
Example of a
policy education and advocacy organization: Partners in Policymaking
http://www.partnersinpolicymaking.com/
For examples of local programs, see
http://www.advocacycenter.com/partners.htm
http://www.modmh.state.mo.us/mrdd/moplan/partners.html
Families USA http://www.familiesusa.org/
IGCnet (Institute for Global Communication) http://www.igc.org/igc/gateway/index.html
National Health Law Program http://www.healthlaw.org/
Links to relevant organizations/agencies (http://www.healthlaw.org/links.shtml)
Physicians for a National Health Program http://www.pnhp.org/
Robert Graham Center http://www.aafppolicy.org/
The Arc http://www.thearc.org/
(What happened to) U2K Campaign: Universal Health Care Action Network http://www.u2kcampaign.org/
Health Access http://www.health-access.org/
Contacting Representative Dicks http://www.house.gov/dicks/
Contacting Senator Cantwell http://cantwell.senate.gov/
Contacting Senator Murray http://murray.senate.gov/
Contacting your Congressional representatives http://www.vote-smart.org/
Example of a local information and assistance program http://www.hrh.org/
Example of an information and advocacy organization for nursing home reform http://www.canhr.org/
Expanding access at state level: http://www.health-access.org/program00access.htm
Education about the legislative process:
Education: Almanac of Policy Issues – Health http://www.policyalmanac.org/health/index.shtml
Educational Resources on health care in Eastern Europe http://www.okno.com/
Educational resources: Dept of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/index.html
Educational resources: Health Hippo http://hippo.findlaw.com/hippohome.html
Educational Resources: Kaiser Family Foundation data on the uninsured: http://www.kff.org/content/2000/3013/
Federal government resources http://www.fedworld.gov/
Information on health care issues and agencies http://www.vote-smart.org/issues/
League of Women Voters http://www.lwv.org/
Links to local, state, and federal legislative, executive and judicial resources: http://www.ups.edu/faculty/stone/courses/OT607/levelsgovernment.htm
Political Action Committees: http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/
Research on general issues and local/state/federal
representative voting records
http://www.vote-smart.org/index.phtml
Research on general issues and local/state/federal representative voting records http://www.lwv.org/
Research resources: People for the American Way http://www.pfaw.org/
Research resources http://www.healthlaw.org/research.shtml
Resources for education about policy issues: Electronic Policy Network http://www.epn.org/