P3B167: Advocacy Curriculum Creation for Pediatric Residents Focused on Community Health and National Advocacy Efforts

Background: Advocacy is essential for the modern pediatrician to effectively engage with their community through policymaking, as translating medical knowledge from the clinical setting to public awareness is imperative for advancing the health of all children. A formal advocacy curriculum has not been previously instituted in our program for pediatric residents. We herein outline a method to develop and evaluate a curriculum that teaches pediatric residents key advocacy skills via a scheduled rotation and an optional track.

Project Description: The structure of the advocacy curriculum will comprise a scheduled rotation for first-year residents and an optional advocacy-focused track for second- and third-year residents. The advocacy curriculum development and implementation team comprises of faculty advisors, community leads, and resident coordinators. Faculty advisors will serve as mentors for those who opt into the advocacy track, while community leads and resident coordinators will serve as liaisons for rotational sites. Track residents will receive guidance for attending national and Michigan AAP advocacy conferences and ongoing AAP district advocacy activities. We have identified the following as key areas in our community that require focused advocacy efforts: food security, health index (including sexually transmitted diseases and LGBTQ+ health), and reproductive health. First-year residents will complete a dedicated 2-week rotation involving required site visits to community partners focused on treating these critical areas. In addition, residents will attend a structured orientation and complete an introduction to advocacy and health systems sciences course. Second-year residents can refine their skills through the advocacy track, selecting an area of interest for a third-year capstone project after participating in an advocacy-focused retreat. We will measure pre- and post-curriculum survey responses using a 5-point Likert scale from residents to assess attitudes towards advocacy as a whole, competency in advocacy-related skills, and involvement in local, state, and national advocacy efforts.

Discussion: The structure, organization, and evaluation of advocacy curriculum development provides a template for other residency and fellowship programs to implement. The process of identifying critical areas in need of additional support, defining structured roles for faculty, community, and resident involvement, and administering consistent, systematic assessments of residents based on their level of training are prioritized in this model.

Conclusion: Advocacy is essential for pediatricians to improve existing therapeutic relationships and build new partnerships within the communities they serve. Goals of formal advocacy curriculum implementation should include expansion of local advocacy resources and increasing awareness of national pediatric-focused advocacy efforts.