Enhancing Physician Advocacy Through Collaboration With Government Relations: Report From the Health Policy Scholars...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health Policy
• Health Services Research
• Academic Medicine

Background:

• Policy advocacy is crucial for pediatric health.
• Collaboration between academic pediatricians and institutional government relations offices (OGR) can enhance advocacy efforts.
• Understanding barriers and facilitators to this collaboration is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore barriers, facilitators, and benefits of collaboration between academic pediatricians and OGRs.
• To enhance policy advocacy efforts through interdisciplinary partnerships.

Main Methods:

• Academic Pediatric Associations' Health Policy Scholars engaged with institutional OGR teams.
• Participant reflections were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis.
• Identified key themes related to collaboration dynamics.

Main Results:

• Barriers included dynamic OGR priorities, fiscal concerns, difficulty identifying contacts, and time constraints for physicians.
• Facilitators involved leveraging existing relationships and mentorship.
• Anticipated benefits included improved advocacy knowledge, amplified physician expertise, and aligned messaging.

Conclusions:

• Collaboration between physician-advocates and OGRs is feasible.
• Orientation and mentorship can improve policy advocacy outcomes.
• Supporting this collaboration enhances advocacy for patients and communities.