Introducing the Global Advocacy Leadership Academy (GALA): Training Health Advocates Around the World to Champion the Needs of Health Care Consumers

Patient advocacy can make significant contributions to health research by ensuring that efforts are patient-focused and help promote cooperation between all relevant sectors of the health care community. Yet, the development of effective patient advocacy organizations demands strong leadership, establishment of active collaborations with key stakeholders, and careful management of fiscal and personnel resources to enhance health outcomes. This presentation describes the development and implementation of an innovative training academy to prepare cancer advocacy leaders, both domestically and internationally, by helping them carefully consider strategic health advocacy processes, roles, and responsibilities. The Global Advocacy Leadership Academy (GALA) will provide participants with a comprehensive overview of the modern health care system, identifying critical constituents and stakeholders, and examining interrelationships between key individuals and organizations. Strategies for fostering meaningful communication, cooperation, and coordination between patient advocacy organizations and other stakeholders related to health, including consumers, other advocacy groups, clinicians, government officials, researchers, and private industry representatives, will also be explored. For example, patient advocacy organization leaders will learn about communication strategies for working effectively with researchers and clinicians to support prevention, detection, treatment, and survivorship efforts that will benefit patients. Patient advocacy organization leaders will also explore strategies for raising funds and increasing funding for health research. They will learn about clinical research, health regulatory systems, community organizing, as well as drug and technology development and approval processes from basic research to clinical practice. Exemplar models of successful patient advocacy organization leadership will be described and evaluated as GALA case studies that illustrate effective health advocacy

Promoting Effective Health Advocacy to Promote Global Health: The Case of the Global Advocacy Leadership Academy (GALA)

Health advocacy can make significant contributions to promoting global health by shaping health promotion programs that are responsive to the needs of consumers. Health care consumers have a major stake in the health care system, yet have had difficulty influencing health policies and practices due to the limited power typically afforded them within the modern health care system. Strategic health advocacy communication can help to recalibrate the balance of power in health care and health promotion efforts, facilitating important influences on health policies and practices. Health advocates can help make health programs responsive and adaptive to consumer needs by communicating consumers’ perspectives in compelling ways to key audiences using a variety of key media. This article describes the communication demands of effective health advocacy, the need to help advocates develop strategic communication knowledge and competencies, and presents a case study of the Global Advocacy Leadership Academy (GALA) program designed to promote effective health advocacy

Introducing the Global Advocacy Leadership Academy (GALA): Training Health Advocates Around the World to Champion the Needs of Health Care Consumers

Patient advocacy can make significant contributions to health research by ensuring that efforts are patient-focused and help promote cooperation between all relevant sectors of the health care community. Yet, the development of effective patient advocacy organizations demands strong leadership, establishment of active collaborations with key stakeholders, and careful management of fiscal and personnel resources to enhance health outcomes. This presentation describes the development and implementation of an innovative training academy to prepare cancer advocacy leaders, both domestically and internationally, by helping them carefully consider strategic health advocacy processes, roles, and responsibilities. The Global Advocacy Leadership Academy (GALA) will provide participants with a comprehensive overview of the modern health care system, identifying critical constituents and stakeholders, and examining interrelationships between key individuals and organizations. Strategies for fostering meaningful communication, cooperation, and coordination between patient advocacy organizations and other stakeholders related to health, including consumers, other advocacy groups, clinicians, government officials, researchers, and private industry representatives, will also be explored. For example, patient advocacy organization leaders will learn about communication strategies for working effectively with researchers and clinicians to support prevention, detection, treatment, and survivorship efforts that will benefit patients. Patient advocacy organization leaders will also explore strategies for raising funds and increasing funding for health research. They will learn about clinical research, health regulatory systems, community organizing, as well as drug and technology development and approval processes from basic research to clinical practice. Exemplar models of successful patient advocacy organization leadership will be described and evaluated as GALA case studies that illustrate effective health advocacy