Survivor-advocates are powerful change agents for injury control. Some of the major prevention successes regarding drinking & driving, helmet laws, gun control, head injury and drowning prevention have been due in large part to their efforts. Panelists will explore common elements in survivor advocacy. These include: a tragic or life-altering event, the therapeutic and motivational link between grieving and activism, deciding what to advocate for, data and the lack thereof, newsworthy tragedies & media advocacy, politics & sympathetic lawmakers, stakeholders (regulatory agencies, professional organizations, manufacturers and trade associations, etc.), and the watch-dog function. Implications for the injury field include 1) networking with victim resource groups to publicize the field's strategies, networks and success stories; 2) media advocacy campaigns which can create public support for specific interventions, and also inform potential survivor-advocates how to get involved; 3) forming respectful partnerships with survivor-advocates to accomplish common goals.
Learning Objectives: Participants will: - appreciate the power of survivor advocates to prevent injury - be sensitized to the connections between grief and advocacy - understand what injury prevention specialists ought to do to partner with survivor advocates
Keywords: Advocacy, Prevention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.