Last week, we are introducing a new feature to our journal entitled “Advocacy Case Studies.” Like “Quality Reports,” these articles share a behind- the-scenes look at what it takes to achieve an improved outcome that will benefit the health and well-being of a child or children, but focus on community advocacy efforts. The first of these Advocacy Case Studies, by Bronstein et al., (10.1542/peds.2018-1886) focuses on how legislation was created and then passed by the California State legislature in 2016 to require the state to develop processes to comply with any new federal recommendations for newborn screening within two years of that recommendation. In this case, the authors discuss the steps taken by an organization called the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases working with California State Senator Dr. Richard Pan to create legislation to expand and move forward with new newborn screening tests. The authors discuss specifically how they formed a coalition of advocate stakeholders for this newborn screening legislation, how they overcame barriers to its passage, and what new screening tests are now being introduced into California as a result. The story is an interesting and exciting one to read, and one that may be applicable to your state and state legislature—but you can decide that after you read this well-written case study.
This new section is based on your suggestions. The format for writing an “Advocacy Case Study” is described in our Author Guidelines. With advocacy being such a key part of what we need to be doing as pediatric health care professionals, what better way to share our successes than by publishing them in our journal? Please consider writing a case study of something you have successfully (or even unsuccessfully) advocated for so this section becomes a regular feature of our journal each and every month.
