How to Advocate for a Health Cause in Washington

At all levels of U.S. society health advocates have plenty of opportunities to make a real difference. Some health advocates concentrate on helping individual patients navigate the often bewildering and complex health care system and assert their rights. Others work on community, state and/or national legislation and policy. Many health activists prefer to seek change at the federal government level because they can impact the most lives. Equipped with the right knowledge and planning, you too can effectively bring your message to Washington, D.C.

Instructions

• 1

  Precisely articulate your selected health problem and its possible solutions backing everything up with solid evidence. You do not need to be a professional research scientist or present anything highly elaborate. You need an honest, compelling argument that will gain you the hearing of other health advocates, decision makers and other potential supporters.

• 2

  Determine whether national legislation affords the best solutions to your selected health problem. Sometimes a problem is best resolved through the private sector, other times through the public and sometimes through a combination of the two. If the public sector needs to be involved, ask whether at the community, state and/or national levels. Try using the decision tree offered by the Connecticut Health Policy Project.

• 3

  Ensure you are not duplicating established efforts. Research whether national lobbyists, interest groups and government officials already work on any aspects of your chosen health cause. Decide whether and how you will join forces with them. You might work or volunteer for an existing organization. You might start or continue with your own group and actively seek out coalition-building opportunities.

• 4

  Craft and communicate as specific a national legislative proposal as possible. Try the Praxis Project's Action Planning Chart or Wellstone Action's Action Planning Template. Often you can move and engage vital constituencies through a mixture of personal experience stories from grassroots constituents and honest, comprehensible attention-grabbing statistics.

• 5

  Tie your communications with legislators or federal agency officials to requests for a pledge of support. When addressing members of the general public follow your message with a simple action step they can take with a minimum of time, effort or expense. The Internet and social media make this very easy to arrange. For example, people can make an online donation in an affordable amount, sign an online petition, send an email or fax to their representatives, write letters to the editor or op-eds or endorse them and sign up for further messages and action alerts.