Advocacy Toolkit

APHN Public Health Policy Advocacy Guide Book and Tool Kit

Public policy advocacy is an important professional competency for public health nurses and other public health professionals. In 2016, The Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN) Public Health Policy Committee prepared a public health policy advocacy guidebook and toolkit as a resource for public health nurses and other public health professionals to build knowledge and skills related to public policy advocacy. The toolkit was reviewed and updated by the current APHN Public Health Policy Committee in 2021. Updates include reformatting of the toolkit into user-friendly sections, adding new resources as well as a new section on using social media for advocacy, created in conjunction with context expert Dr. Carole Meyers.

The goals of the updated toolkit are to:
1. Provide an overview of advocacy and the policy making process,
2. Strengthen the ability of organizations and individuals to advocate for policy change using a variety of effective advocacy strategies,
3. Share tools and resources for public health nurses and other public health professionals engaging in advocacy, and
4. Establish a framework for identifying policy goals, creating a plan of action, and effectively building the case for change.

You can review the toolkit as a whole or visit sections that are most meaningful to your public policy advocacy role and goals. The five sections of the updated toolkit include:
1. Advocacy as a tool and strategy
2. Understanding the public policy process
3. Organizational advocacy
4. Individual advocacy
5. Advocacy tips and tools

We hope you find this toolkit useful in developing advocacy related skills and competencies. You can download the 2021 version of the toolkit using this link: 
APHN Public Health Policy Advocacy Guidebook and Toolkit _May 2021.pdf