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| Mission |
| Advocacy Alerts |
| Take Action |
| Legislation |
| 109th Congress |
| Resources |
| Advocacy Summit |
| State Leg. Sites |
| Resolutions |
| Search the HEA |
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Advocating for Public Health Education Legislation and Health Promotion Funding |
The following is a list of web resources to assist in your advocacy efforts.
Community Health Status Indicators Reports
The goal of Community Health Status Indicators (CHSI) is to provide an overview of key health indicators for local communities and to encourage dialogue about actions that can be taken to improve a community’s health. The CHSI report was designed not only for public health professionals but also for members of the community who are interested in the health of their community. The CHSI report contains over 200 measures for each of the 3,141 United States counties. Although CHSI presents indicators like deaths due to heart disease and cancer, it is imperative to understand that behavioral factors such as tobacco use, diet, physical activity, alcohol and drug use, sexual behavior and others substantially contribute to these deaths. http://communityhealth.hhs.gov/HomePage.aspx
�Making Your Advocacy Efforts Work�
This easy reading brochure, published by the Coalition of National Health Education Organizations, provides 12 quick steps to getting started in advocacy and making your voice heard.
Introductory Guide to Advocacy Working to Improve Advocacy for School Health Education and Services
This guide was developed to assist advocates who support school health programs, both as volunteers and staff. The 52-page guide includes four sections. Part I. Introduction to Advocacy provides a broad overview of advocacy initiatives and describes ASHA's commitment to advocacy. Part II. Advocacy Concepts offers an overview of four essential advocacy elements: grassroots mobilization; coalitions and partnerships; lobbying or influencing decision makers; and media and communications. Part III. The Government Arena describes how federal, state, and local governments debate and pass legislation. A section on "School Governance" is included. Part IV. Glossary of Terms provides an introduction to the language of legislation. 2001, 52 pp., soft-cover. Order information: http://www.ashaweb.org/cgibin/Web_store/web_store.cgi?page=nmeducation.html&cart_id=8787288.12821
Grassroots Games, an book of interactive advocacy exercises; Cybercitizen, A Grassroots Guide to the Internet; and Advocacy Training Manuals for Your Lobby Day or Fly-in. Published by Soapbox Consulting is a Washington-DC based firm specializing in advocacy training and materials. www.soapboxconsulting.com
�Taking Action for Local Public Health: How to Participate in the Legislative Process � A Handbook of Nuts and Bolts: What, How and Why�
Produced by the National Association of City and County Health Officials, this 6-page booklet provides quick tips on writing to Congress and visiting with your legislator. Free at http://www.naccho.org/files/documents/advocacy-taking-action.pdf
�Advocacy Training Materials from the Arc�s Department of Governmental Affairs�
Information on how a bill becomes a law, general tips for dealing with the media, contacting and meeting with your legislator, how to write a letter to the editor. From ARC, the national organization of people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities and their families. http://thearc.org/ga/trainmat.html
A 16-page guide on how to use the media effectively to support public policy initiatives. Covers planning your message and ways of using the media tips for writing press releases, editorial board visits, interviews, op-eds, and media events. Free. http://www.apha.org/news/Media_Advocacy_Manual.pdf
Selected Websites
http://www.advocacy.org/about.htm
The Advocacy Institute works to make social justice leadership strategic, effective, and sustainable in pursuit of a just world. Founded in 1985, the Advocacy Institute works to achieve a just society, in the US and outside of it, grounded in the following core values: justice for those denied justice; economic equality for those denied sustenance and opportunity; public health and security for those at preventable risk; and access to political power for those who have been denied an equal voice in the policy-making process. The Institute offers an Advocacy Leadership Fellows Program, an annual Advocacy Institute and various publications on advocacy.
http://www.APHA.org/legislative
The American Public Health Association website includes a variety of materials on advocacy issues relevant to public health including Fact sheets, Action Alerts, Testimony, Policy Statements, Tips for Effective Advocacy, Useful Advocacy Links and Media Advocacy Manual. Note that Advocacy Updates are available to APHA members only.
This website of the American Cancer Society contains a special section for professionals with figures, trends, statistics, publications, news releases and other helpful information for building your advocacy case.
The American Heart Association�s website includes a special Advocacy section, including legislative priorities, facts and statistics, coalitions, as well as a legislative action center where you can sign up to receive email alerts. Also includes state-specific information and relevant policies.
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials� website includes a policy advocacy section with testimony, facts sheets, policies and resources, and information about an annual Hill Day.
This website of the National Association of City and County State Health Officials includes testimorny, fact sheets, resolutions, and a link to Capwiz for identifying and contacting your legislator.
This website provides information on recent testimony and press releases of the Association of Schools of Public Health.
This website from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids provides advocacy information on global, federal, and state tobacco-related initiatives as well as facts and special reports. Allows user to take action online by sending emails to legislators on tobacco policies.
This web page of the American Association of Health Education (AAHE) will assist you in identifying and tracking various bills in the U.S. Congress related to health education.
Research!America is a national not-for-profit, membership-supported, public education and advocacy alliance. Its goal is to achieve funding for medical and health research in both public and private sectors at a level warranted by scientific opportunity and supported by public opinion. Site includes legislative updates plus talking points and the latest public opinion polls that can be used in policy advocacy.
This website of the Council of Chief State School Health Officers
provides policy statements, Federal legislative positions, and
school-health related publications. Includes State Profiles
providing important background information and data on nutrition and
fitness for every state, the District of Columbia, and the nation
(http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/tools/profiles.htm)
www.prevent.org
Partnership for Prevention�s website includes a link to the Congressional Prevention Coalition, 180 policy ideas, and various policy statements as well as fact sheets and report.