The links below contained detailed information for the upcoming 2017 Safe States Alliance Annual Meeting, taking place September 12-14, 2017 in Aurora, Colorado.
Please note:
- A total of five concurrent sessions will take place during the Annual Meeting, and there will be up to five breakouts occurring simultaneously during each of those concurrent sessions. Within each breakout, there will be up to four presentations that take place.
- This online system does not allow us to embed the individual presentations within each breakout. Please note the session presentations listed under each Concurrent Breakout title for associated content.
- The on-site mobile app WILL embed these sessions for ease of use.
- A printable, detailed agenda can be found on the 2017 Annual Meeting website.
- If you have any questions, please contact info@safestates.org
- All session times and locations are tentative and subject to change. Safe States will continue to update these details as changes take place.
Strengthening Connections: Partnering with a Law School to amplify the voice of public health when educating decision-makers.
Learning Objectives
In this session, participants will:
- Assess the utility of a topic-based guide to educate decision-makers.
- Learn about the value of a partnership with a Law School to strengthen the connection between practice and policy.
- Identify unique ways to educate policymakers about important injury prevention topics.
Statement of Purpose
Through a partnership between the Maryland Violence and Injury Prevention Program (VIPP) and the University of Maryland School of Law (UMSL), in 2017, members of the Maryland Legislature were educated about public health priorities regarding injury and violence prevention through dissemination of the Maryland Violence and Injury Prevention Resource Guide (MD Guide). Attorneys from the Network for Public Health Law, the UMSL Legal Resource Center, and law students, used the MD Guide to initiate conversations at key committee meetings prior to the start of the 2017 Legislative session. This presentation will discuss anticipated results of an evaluation of this activity, and the importance of partnerships to amplify the voice of public health when educating legislators.
Methods/Approach
In 2016, the Maryland VIPP developed the MD Guide in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy. The MD guide contains national and state data on 11 topics, and includes prevention solutions and local resources for each topic. The MD guide was posted online and distributed to key stakeholders. Maryland VIPP asked UMSL to disseminate the guide to legislators in the Maryland General Assembly. UMSL sent an email with the URL to all members of the Legislature, and distributed 75 copies during in-person meetings. A survey of legislators was conducted about the utility of the guide and under what circumstances it was used during the Legislative session.
Results
As a result of using the MD Guide to brief Legislators, Legislators contacted MD VIPP for additional copies, and technical assistance requests were sent to UMSL. Results from the legislative survey will discuss how Maryland VIPP, in collaboration with UMSL, can amplify the voice of public health and the usefulness of the topic-based guide.
Conclusions & Significance to the Field
Maryland VIPP is committed to introducing the public health perspective to conversations involving policies that affect all Marylanders. The partnership between Maryland VIPP and the UMSL enables Maryland VIPP to strengthen the connection between public health and policy. Topic-based guides may also present a mechanism for conveying important public health issues to policy-makers.
Presenters
Genevieve Polk, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Biography
Ms. Genevieve Polk, MPH, is the Injury Prevention Program Coordinator at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She got her B.A. from Bowdoin College and her MPH in Health Education from Emory University.