About this Session:
The critical juncture where policy decisions and public health intersect is overheating from the COVID-19 vaccines, abortion rights, insulin caps, gender-affirming care and the opioid crisis. While these are all squarely healthcare issues, they've landed themselves on the political agenda, hindering the ability of health leaders to act on what they know is best for patients. With hands tied, grassroots advocacy efforts have emerged to fill the gap and demand change, and these efforts are pretty effective! Take the HIV crisis, private industry has been working side-by-side with advocacy, integrating the patient voice into all facets of work, and consequently leading to incredible advancements in care. There is great power in collective action and advocacy in treating under-resourced diseases and expanding access to care in situations that may not be financially lucrative, only affect a minority population or are heavily politicized. How can we rally around a cause and create tangible policy changes that address health disparities and promote health equity? Sometimes we have to force change from the outside.