Evidence-Based Approaches to Affect Policy: Lessons Learned From State Health Departments and National Non-Profit Organizations In Injury and Violence Prevention and Response

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) is in the process of developing communication planning tools to build the capacity of Core Violence and Injury Prevention Program (VIPP) funded states and non-funded state injury programs to develop, disseminate, implement and evaluate communication strategies and activities for affecting policy at the local, state and national level. To best inform development of these planning tools targeted towards policy, NCIPC conducted a needs assessment with NCIPC’s national partner organizations and state injury programs with experience in designing communication initiatives to affect policy. These key stakeholders were interviewed in order to identify the current capacity of state health departments, capacity gaps and needs, and ways to improve the capacity of state health departments to use communication strategies for affecting policy. Interviews explored how best to conduct an initial launch of these tools and support for ongoing utilization and examined best practices and challenges in affecting policy to prevent injury and violence. To understand key stakeholders’ experiences with communication to affect policy, the following research questions were asked: RQ1: How do NCIPC stakeholders—partner organizations and state injury and violence prevention programs—perceive the importance of, plan for and implement communication initiatives to affect policy? RQ2: What do NCIPC stakeholders perceive as key challenges to planning and implementing communication initiatives to affect policy? RQ3: What types of information and resources do NCIPC stakeholders believe would be most helpful to them in planning and implementing communication initiatives to affect policy?

Methods: A total of 18 in-depth interviews were conducted: 9 interviews with national partner non-profit organization members and 9 interviews with state health department officials working in injury and violence prevention and response.

Results:  Findings are expected to reveal state health departments’ and national injury and violence prevention and response organizations’ previous experiences with affecting policy, including evidence-based and best practice approaches to affect policy to prevent injury and violence.  Findings will also reveal barriers that states and organizations face in their use of communication to affect policy.

Conclusions:  Communication to affect public health policy has been studied only limitedly.  Exploring the lessons learned regarding state health departments’ and national organizations’ experiences affecting policy can contribute greatly to our understanding of how to affect policy for greater public health.

Implications for research and/or practice:  Findings from this research inform recommendations for how to develop communication tools to assist states and national non-profits with their policy initiatives. Furthering understanding of evidence-based practices can help state and local health departments as well as national non-profit organizations to have greater involvement and success in affecting public health policy.