Barbara Giesser, MD, and Nadine Goldberg, PhD, MS, on Advocacy in Neurology
“Advocacy” means to increase awareness about or show support for an issue or event. Advocating in neurology means to truly give a voice to your patients and bring your concerns to government or other overseers.
This is the topic of a session at the 144th Annual Meeting of the American Neurological Association (ANA) in October 2019.1 Chair Barbara Giesser, MD, and ANA Executive Director Nadine Goldberg, PhD, MS, answered our questions about this upcoming session.
Dr Giesser is professor of clinical neurology and the clinical director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program at the David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr Goldberg is the executive director of the American Neurological Association in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.
NEUROLOGY CONSULTANT: What is the role of academic neurologists and neuroscientists in advocacy?
Barbara Giesser and Nadine Goldberg: The participation of neurologists and neuroscientists in advocacy has become crucial due to the politization of science and the looming fear of budget cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). They are uniquely poised to be expert advocates for support for education, research, and innovation in clinical care. During this interactive lunch workshop, attendees will learn how they can impact legislation from the perspective of an academic neurologist, a patient advocate, and a lobbyist.
NEURO CON: How can academic neurologists and neuroscientists participate in advocacy efforts?
BG and NG: Advocacy can occur at the local, state, regional, federal, and even international levels. This begins with becoming educated about current legislative initiatives and policies that impact funding and/or regulation of neurologic education, research, and clinical care. The ANA Public Policy & Relations Committee provides information about such initiatives that the ANA supports through our quarterly newsletter and social media channels.
NEURO CON: What opportunities are there for neurologists to participate in advocacy at the local, state, and national levels?
BG and NG: Advocacy can be as simple as sending an email to an elected representative to ask for his or her support of a particular issue, or as involved as going to that legislator’s office to personally review the issue(s) with him or her. Professional neurological/neuroscience organizations such as the ANA, American Academy of Neurology (AAN), Society for Neuroscience (SfN), and the American Brain Coalition (ABC) help to arrange such visits to state legislators and members of Congress. Nonprofit organizations such as the National Multiple Sclerosis Society also engage in these advocacy efforts. Advocacy also involves training for neurology and neuroscience students and residents about these issues.
NEURO CON: What else should neurologists know about this topic?
BG and NG: Advocacy efforts by neurologists and neuroscientists have resulted in legislative actions such as that affecting reimbursement, continued and increased funding for NIH, and safeguards to prevent insurance companies from restricting access to care. Your voice does make a difference!
NEURO CON: What is the key take-home message from your session?
BG and NG: It is imperative that neurologists and neuroscientists participate in advocacy efforts to ensure continued access to innovative, highest-quality clinical care, promote education to foster the growth of the next generation of neurologists and neuroscientists, and support funding for research that will continue to lead to more effective treatments and cures for the often devastating effects of neurologic illness and injury. We hope that attendees feel empowered to participate in advocacy efforts after this session!
For more information about the ANA’s Annual Meeting or to read more about Drs Giesser and Goldberg’s session, visit the ANA’s website: https://2019.myana.org.
Reference:
- Dennis L, Giesser B, Giraldo E, Weldon M. Advocacy in action: the role of academic neurologists and neuroscientists. Talk will be presented at: ANA 2019; October 13-15, 2019: St. Louis, MO. https://2019.myana.org/sites/default/files/docs/2019/ana19_advanceprogram.pdf.