No community-based outreach is complete without firmly established advocacy relationships. More and more healthcare organizations are looking to advocacy initiatives to strengthen community ties, deliver information to specific patient groups and prevent - or at least lessen - the controversial sting of conflict on medical issues that reach the press.
Though advocacy efforts can become strained given the high stakes involved with delivering quality healthcare with limited resources, they are absolutely essential to developing community goodwill and establishing long-term dialogue with influential patient groups.
Daniel Dallabrida who heads up Dallabrida & Associates in San Francisco, has carved out expertise as an advocacy consultant for pharmaceutical companies, managed care organizations and hospitals. He recently spoke on the subject at World Pharm '98 in Philadelphia and the United States AIDS conference.
Here, he discusses how to expand on existing advocacy initiatives and where the strongest advocacy opportunities are in healthcare. He can be reached at 415/255-6186 or by email: [email protected].
HPRMN: Where are the strongest hospital-based advocacy opportunities?
DD: Though I think that hospitals understand the importance of developing advocacy initiatives, there's a tendency not to prioritize them. It's sort of like [the saying], "Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die." Often, the easiest solutions [for developing advocacy efforts] are back-burnered. Advocacy efforts can be manageable if broken down into basic elements.
It is also important to develop a mapping field by identifying potential partners and then gaining a clear understanding of what their objectives are - to accelerate drug development to treat a particular disease, patient education or ensuring the best patient care.
Until you know your [advocacy partner's] objectives, the two organizations may wind up speaking different languages.
HPRMN: How do you begin to link objectives with a patient advocacy group?
DD: You have to figure out what you have in common with the advocacy group, particularly in three key areas: access, information and action. Access refers to both organizations being committed to making the full continuum of care available to all patients, and information refers to the balanced and honest exchange of treatment information. And action is absolutely crucial for both hospitals and advocacy groups, because both are trying to get patients to take more control of their healthcare through behaviors like adhering to a drug treatment plan, signing up for a particular health program, etc.
HPRMN: What about developing minority-based advocacy efforts? Are there critical success factors to consider?
DD: People in different communities get [health] information differently. For instance, African Americans, Hispanics and women won't tend to go to disease-specific advocacy organizations to get information on conditions like HIV and AIDS. Instead they go to community-based centers like Planned Parenthood or a special clinic. So I consult with my clients on developing relationships with advocacy partners that have more of a general health focus with integrated services.
HPRMN: If you already have an existing advocacy relationship, how do you strengthen or expand it?
DD: By focusing on what it takes to sustain a long-term commitment. Community partners are in it for the long haul so the healthcare organization has to develop a system to maintain that corporate commitment. Be as honest, direct and forthcoming as possible by sharing what you can and can't do. Advocacy groups understand limited resources and organizational priorities.
Also, use a third party [consultant] who has credibility with the advocacy group and can help keep the relationship intact. This third party should understand the community-based culture and serve as a translator when communication breaks down.
Advocacy: Dos & Don'ts
To strengthen an existing advocacy relationship, Daniel Dallabrida of Dallabrida & Associates, a San Francisco-based advocacy consulting firm, highlights this short list of dos and don'ts:
Do:
- Be up front and honest about your organization's objectives, clarifying what you can and can't do due to budgetary reasons and campaign priorities.
- Focus on developing long-term relationships by developing organizational systems that make advocacy a priority.
- Look beyond obvious disease-specific patient groups and explore minority groups, churches and community centers.
Don't:
- Blindside your advocacy partner by neglecting to give them critical patient information.
- Select advocacy partners who aren't on the same page as you are in the key areas of access, information and action.
- Expect to earn full agreement on healthcare issues, especially controversial ones. Instead, pursue mutual respect, sometimes agreeing to disagree.