Advocacy 101 in the DMV
Advocacy 101 in the DMV
On January 23rd, the NCA SOPHE advocacy committee held a webinar, Advocacy 101 in the DMV,’ to provide
share information about advocating for public health legislation. By the end of the webinar the participants would be able to:
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Define advocacy and understand the difference between advocacy and lobbying.
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Understand the basic structure of VA and MD legislatures and DC City Council.
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Identify their state representatives.
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Understand the VA, MD, and DC legislative process and how to track a bill.
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Identify 1 current public health-related bill in VA, MD, and DC.
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Identify 3 advocacy resources provided by local and national public health organizations.
Heart Disease Curriculum
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, causing about 1 in 4 deaths per year. The National Capital Area SOPHE is excited to present you with a comprehensive course that addresses the overview and types of heart disease, and risk factors. The course will cover signs and symptoms of heart disease, various diagnostic tests, and a brief overview of pharmacotherapeutic treatments. It describes how mobile interventions and community-based interventions engaging community health workers can help address heart disease. Learners will be able to obtain a list of evidence-based resources including federal government initiatives such as the Million Hearts®, ABC’s of Heart Disease, the WISEWOMAN program, and CDC’s 6|18 initiative.
Results and Lessons Learned from a Digital Technology Initiative Focusing on Young People with HIV:
This webinar presented information from a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) initiative and related collection of manuscripts that appeared in the September 2020 Health Promotion Practice (HPP). The webinar highlighted models and findings from a 2015-19 initiative “Use of Social Media to Improve Engagement, Retention, and Health Outcomes along the HIV Care Continuum.” The initiative occurred in ten cities throughout the country under HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Program. The webinar was presented by John Hannay, MTS, MCHES, who works professionally at HRSA and was the lead project officer on the initiative.
The HPP collection featured eight peer-reviewed papers that show significant promise in using tailored, mobile technology-based platforms to improve HIV-related care and treatment to reach young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) and transgender women. Demonstration projects implemented and evaluated the acceptability and impact of using different social media and messaging services (e.g., Facebook messaging and optional secret group, texting, and original or adapted mobile apps). Such technologies previously have been found to be used frequently by GBMSM and transgender women aged 18 to 34.