By Ashley Fehringer, BS
As human beings we make snap judgments and later justify them. We view people who oppose our views as morally wrong. When we argue our point, we stay within our own moral confines and rarely attack our argument through the eyes of an opponent. We may argue that we are open-minded, but human nature is close-minded. In politics and in public health, our own human nature hinders our success in generating health policy and changing behaviors.
These are some of the main points addressed in a conversation about Advocacy for Leaders that I attended at the 2015 Annual APHA Conference. The conversation centers on the work of Jonathan Haidt in his book The Righteous Mind. The book discusses why humans think the way they do. We are bound by six moral foundations and our decisions are effected by which foundations we hold to the highest esteem.
In public health, we generally hold morals such as Care, Fairness, and Liberty to higher esteem. Thus, when we make our arguments we stress the potential to save lives, the fairness of social welfare programs and the liberty created through elimination of health disparities. As a public health practitioner, all of these arguments make sense and I could not fathom how anyone could argue against our points. However, when considering things from a more conservative perspective, in which loyalty and sanctity are more highly regarded, a progressive health promotion plan may disrupt the normal order and sanctity of our communities and would therefore not be appealing to our opponents.
In public health advocacy and policy, we need to frame our argument around the moral foundations of our opponents. We need to stop “preaching to the choir,” and we need to start having real conversation about change that can work for both sides.
Of the APHA sessions I attended I found this one to be most informative and helpful for my future career. As I hope to work in public health policy and advocacy someday, this session has given me a new perspective on how to view policy and how to advocate effectively for my own cause.
Ashley Fehringer is a second-year MPH student, concentrating in maternal and child health. Her interests are in maternal and child health, early childhood development and education, and sexual and reproductive health. Ms. Fehringer will be graduating in December 2015 and will be departing for Guatemala in March 2016 to work in the Peace Corps as a Maternal and Child Health Specialist for two years.
