How to influence public policy: A blueprint for activism.

Abstract

For the past three years, Division 38 (Health Psychology) of the American Psychological Association has conducted monthly policy dinner meetings featuring various national health policy experts as guest speakers. The express purpose behind these meetings has been to develop an appreciation within the division for the complexities of formulating public policy. A desirable, though secondary, goal has been to educate guest\ speakers to the potential contributions that psychology could make in various program areas. The resulting dialogues have been stimulating and have opened a number of administrative doors to input from psychologists. The authors urge other APA divisions, committees, and especially state and local associations to initiate their own series of similar meetings. The importance of the profession's developing a first-hand appreciation of the intricacies and truly interdisciplinary nature of the political process governing health care in our nation is especially stressed.The authors would like to express their appreciation for the encouragement and continuing support of Joseph Matarazzo, Stephen Weiss, Neal Miller, and Jerome Singer in their roles as presidents of APA Division 38 (Health Psychology). We would also Jike to express our sincerest appreciation for the volunteer help provided by Hazel Thomas, Patty Camp, and Lisa Jonas, staff of the Association for the Advancement of Psychology.

Connecting Research and Policymaking: Implications for Theory and Practice from the Family Impact Seminars*

“…Yet most social problems are not so easily divided and compartmentalized. The seminars offer a uniquely broad interdisciplinary perspective which, due to the segmentation of expertise, is needed in policy debate (DeLeon et al, 1996; Weiss & Bucuvalas, 1980). To design comprehensive seminars, we attempt to cross disciplinary boundaries by including faculty on seminar planning committees familiar with scholarship in diverse fields such as economics, education, family studies, health, law, psychology, social work, and sociology.…”

“…Average participant ratings of eleven Wisconsin Family Impact Seminars (1993Seminars ( -1998. relevant,useful,or objective;3 ϭ Somewhat relevant,useful or objective;and 5 ϭ Very relevant,useful,or objective. cles (Boyer, 1990;DeLeon, O'Keefe, VandenBos, & Kraut, 1996;Lynton & Elman, 1987;McCall, 1996).…”

Small wins: Redefining the scale of social problems.

“…Authors of many of the policy articles that have appeared in the American Psychologist have criticized psychologists for being naive and knowing relatively little about playing "hardball" with constituencies that have serious resources and know the game (e.g., Bazelon, 1982;D6rken, 1981;Hager, 1982;Sarason, 1978). Psychologists have responded by deprecating the game (e.g., March, 1979), making efforts to learn hardball (e.g., DeLeon et al, 1982), or by defining new games (e.g., Fishman & Neigher, 1982). The thrust of the present analysis, however, is that we need to be less apologetic for our apparent naivete than we have been.…”

Feminist Contributions to Health Psychology

“…Emerging trends in feminist contributions to health reflect a growing understanding of legislative channels and how to use them. Pat DeLeon, another early protagonist of health psychology, has been particularly instrumental in facilitating the inclusion of psychology in public policy involving health (DeLeon, 1986;DeLeon, O'Keefe, VandenBos, & Kraut, 1982). Attempts to influence public policy were addressed in provisions of the Women's Health Equity Act of 1990 and supported, among others, by Senators Barbara Mikulski and Patricia Schroeder.…”