Oral

This session will focus on successful ways to use public health information and experience to influence policy at the local, state and national level. We will begin with a description of a strategy to engage women through a series of retreats, teleconferences and emails in a strategy to develop and successfully use advocacy skills. Next we will discuss how public health professionals can work with legislators to develop policy to address an important public health problem – the rising prevalence of childhood obesity. We next focus on another area of healthcare policy making: the quality measures that are used by insurance providers in determining the scope of their plans’ covered benefits. This presentation will describe the roles of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and the Health Plan Employer Data Information Set (HEDIS). We will next discuss the use of data from National Cancer Institute's State Cancer Legislative Database to analyze state laws addressing cancer disparities. Finally, we will discuss a collaborative process to promote cancer prevention, improve cancer detection, increase access to health and social services to reduce the burden of cancer, and increase resources for public health programs and/or policy change at the state level.

Session Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be able to: • Describe successful strategies for training community-based women in public-policy advocacy • Describe avenues for participation, as a health professional, in the policy process including developing alternatives, defining the problem and advocating for specific alternatives • Explain the significance of the NCQA and the HEDIS measures it publishes. • Describe the ways that state legislatures are addressing the problem of cancer health disparities • Describe the collaborative effort of national cancer control organizations to support the acquisition of resources for public health programs, such as tobacco, obesity and cancer

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing