Motivation and Methods for Engaging Health Center Special Populations in Grassroots Advocacy

Health center patients come from a wide range of cultural, socioeconomic, and linguistic backgrounds, and health centers have been successful at delivering culturally competent care to all of their patients and successfully bringing community members in for care. During a time of polarizing political issues, health care reform, immigration reform debate, and other policy challenges and opportunities for health centers, it is more important than ever that health center patients express their voice to its full force. This session will discuss methods for integrating advocacy into health center operations and the best practices for doing so in culturally competent ways. Participants will hear from experts working with the farmworker and homeless populations, and other diverse groups to learn methods for culturally competent outreach and education, strategies for engaging in more advocacy and civic engagement with these populations, and the importance and power of doing so for the future of health centers and the millions of patients they serve.