Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Sarah Connor, MPH, CHES¹, Westley Sholes², Stan Mikkelsen², Andrew Reshke², and Laura Baybridge¹. (1) Urology, UCLA, Box 951738, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1738, 310-794-6374, sconnor@mednet.ucla.edu, (2) California Prostate Cancer Coalition, 6509 Via Baron, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

This presentation describes the results of two years of advocacy efforts by the California Prostate Cancer Coalition (CPCC) to ensure the continuation of the IMPACT Program (Improving Access, Counseling and Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer), a statewide program that provides free prostate cancer treatment to low-income, uninsured or underinsured men. In January 2004, the California Department of Health Services began the process of closing the IMPACT Program due to the state's ongoing fiscal crisis. As leading prostate cancer advocates in California, the CPCC stepped in and initiated a series of grassroots advocacy strategies designed to educate the State legislature and the California public about the need for the Program. We will examine the advocacy efforts employed and the achievement of short-term outcomes such as maintaining IMPACT Program funding, increased policymaker awareness of the issues surrounding access of low-income, vulnerable populations to prostate cancer treatment, and achievement of key policy outcomes. Building a broad based community coalition, the CPCC has continued these advocacy and education activities efforts over the past two years and continue to this day. These activities will be examined, effects on state policy and on the CPCC will be reviewed, and future implications will be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to identify techniques for building an independent coalition that represents diverse perspectives for improving health.
• Participants will be able to identify 3 key advocacy strategies.
• Participants will be able to discuss the state legislative process and how to tailor advocacy strategies in response to this process.

Keywords: Advocacy, Legislative

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No