Oral

The CHPPD section proposes a ninety-minute panel presentation by a moderator and five Public Health Activists who have implemented successful tools and strategies in reaching, teaching, and engaging the communities as important stakeholders in communication/events/activities that would result in having a heard voice in health care reform. It is anticipated that the moderator would have ten-minutes to set the stage of the importance of health activism and as of its having a long and vibrant history in Public Health, as well as introduce each of the speakers. The speakers have been carefully selected to present to the audience the tools and strategies that have worked in particular communities. The communities with which one or more of the panelists have worked include: women, youth, people of color, disabled people, public health workers; each would have ten-minutes to present her work. As important, thirty-minutes have been put aside for audience comments and questions, in order for the audience to better understand how the tools and strategies presented by the panelists might be adapted for the particular communities of interest to them.

Session Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be better able to 1.Identify the ever-important role of public health activism in creating change in the healthcare system that better provides access for all of us, including the most vulnerable 2) Define effective tools and strategies that engage communities in health activism for the next decade 3.Discuss various strategies to engage community staheholders to represent their group in health care reform

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)