policy + advocacy
advocating for public health
ublic health policy advocacy can be easy and it can make a difference in the outcomes of local, state and national policy decisions. It doesn’t require any new skills, just applying skills you already posses, such as communication and relationship building, in a new context.
To help our members take an active role in addressing policy priorities, our committee intends to provide IPHA members with two to three ‘policy resource guides’ each year. These guides will pertain to important public health policy priorities and include evidence-based resources to help members develop effective and focused messaging when communicating with policy makers and colleagues.
youth violence
climate change
substance use
contact your legislator
- Go to http://www.in.gov/core
- Click on the ‘Government‘ table at the center top of the page.
- Click on ‘General Assembly‘ in the upper left dropdown menu you see already displayed.
- Click on the ‘Find Your Legislator‘ small tab in the center of the page, then on the ‘Find Your Legislator‘ main box.
- Enter your address as requested.
- You Indiana General Assembly legislators and Federal Congressional legislators will all be listed, complete with contact information.
take epic action
EPIC is a succinct way to organize your thoughts, formulate your argument and make your request for policy change. As you are inspired to speak up and speak out, consider using this tool to make your case.
Try crafting a message, in the form of a letter or phone call to decision makers. This message should have 2 impactful sentence for each letter of EPIC. Then, be sure to follow up in a timely fashion until you receive a clear yer/no response to your call to action.
E = Engage the reader or listener.
P = State the problem clearly.
I = Inform on or illustrate a solution.
C = Call to action. Best framed so that it could conceivably be answered with a yes or a no.
