Special Feature: Editorial
Communicating and Advocating for Science and Medicine: Beyond the Basics

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CASE REPORT 1

Consider the recent furor regarding breast cancer screening when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force presented recommendations about screening mammography for women aged 40 to 49 years. They suggested that decisions about initiating biennial screening mammography before age 50 years "should be an individual one."1 Although the recommendation does not seem controversial, the situation reprises events in 1997 when the National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference made a recommendation

CASE REPORT 2

In the aftermath of the first Gulf war, many veterans and members of Congress became alarmed by an apparent increase in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) among veterans who were physically deployed during the war. Constituents and Congress demanded that the issue be investigated despite preceding research that failed to show an association between service in the Gulf war and development of ALS. Their demand for more definitive research to resolve the remaining controversy was difficult to

SUMMARY

I have discussed several advocacy strategies to improve effective communications for those motivated to do the necessary work to make a difference in policy decisions involving science and health care. I encourage you to get involved personally with members of Congress, their key "staffers," and to contribute financially to their election efforts. Other suggestions are self-evident, for example, think strategically, only advocate for important policies and do not "over promise" or "under

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author thanks Ms. Patricia Votava, Director of Government Relations and Grants at the Medical University of South Carolina for her thoughtful comments and insightful suggestions.

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