Question:
Discussion 1: Partnerships and Advocacy
Two sisters, Lindsay and Lexie Kite, devoted almost a decade to exploring images of so-called beauty in television, movies, and magazines. What they discovered was that girls and women are exposed to an almost constant barrage of media messages that only certain body types are beautiful and that to appear less than model-thin calls for extreme measures such as the digital alteration of photographs. The sisters devised an idea they called “Beauty Redefined,” which aimed to promote healthy body image and self-esteem among girls and to challenge the popular media’s unrealistic female images. They soon discovered the benefits of networking and found potential partners in unexpected places—such as the makers of Dove products—who shared their goals. The sisters concluded that the partnerships they forged were their most important asset in spreading their message.
Why are partnerships so important to public health programs? Partnerships are integral to advocacy and funding. When reaching out to others for help in building a public health program, consider both private and public partnerships. Ask yourself, “Who else would be interested in this initiative? What other groups not traditionally associated with this health issue might have a stake in the same public health problem or initiative? Who stands to benefit if my program is successful?” Learning how to partner with others may be the key to making your public health program a reality.
In public health initiatives, building partnerships is not merely a matter of asking others to join you to support the program, but asking them to advocate for the program as well. It is important to be aware of both the benefits and challenges related to advocacy in building effective partnerships to develop an effective public health program.
For this Discussion, review the media titled Raising Partnerships, Raising Funds. Consider some of the ways in which the organizations depicted used information to cultivate partnerships and increase advocacy for their public health program in their community. Think of the practical tasks necessary in building partnerships other than communicating needs, and the challenges you might face in recruiting partners.
Answer:
Partnerships
A partnership is an association between individuals who come together to do business. Connections are essential in public health programs. It encourages sharing of skills and knowledge thus result it will help in giving clients better quality services. Also, partnerships help to pool resources together, therefore, funding the health projects. Connections are also vital in the field of health since people can share risks. The risks involved in operating a partnership are low. The situation is contrary to a sole trader.
There are several stakeholders who might be interested in a partnership when creating this program. Some of these stakeholders comprise of the government and medical experts. The government will be an interested party since it cares about the health of their citizens. On the other hand, other people who might be interested are the makers of cosmetic products. It comprises of companies that manufacture products such as lotions (Fertman & Allensworth, 2017). These products assist in maintaining the texture of the body hence making it appealing and healthy. They will also be interested since women and girls will be a potential market for their products. Other groups who might develop an interest in the program are the parents of the girls and their teachers. It is because they are concerned by the self-esteem of the girl both at school and at home. The program might also attract the attention of the charitable institutions. These are the people who like supporting the society in general to improve their welfare. Therefore, the might fund the project. The girl child and women will benefit since the project will improve their health. It will also increase their self-esteem before other members of members of the public
Images (Public partner)
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The public partner is useful since he can fund the project. On the other hand, the latter can offer volunteer services to the program. One of the ways of fostering partnership is through sharing information and mutual consultation. The benefits of advocacy are that it allows people to share ideas. Also, it enables individuals to raise funds quickly. One of the disadvantages is that it can result to slow decision making. Finally, it can lead to disagreements among people in the process of negotiation.
References:
Chapter 9, “Where Money Meets Mission: Developing and Increasing Program Funding” (pp. 219-240)
Fertman, C. I., & Allensworth, D. D. (Eds.). (2017). Health promotion programs: From theory to practice (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
