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A. Community Oral Health Policy
Policy formulation is described in The Future
of Public Health as the “process by which society makes decisions about
problems, chooses goals, and selects the proper means to reach
them.14 This section of the Guide describes the role of
community oral health stakeholders in public policy, the stages
of policy development, and mechanisms for staying informed and
involved in policy efforts to improve oral health.
1. Role of
Stakeholders
Community oral health stakeholders sometimes view
policy, laws, regulations, ordinances, rules, and research as
being outside
their scope of responsibility or expertise. Health policy
is often viewed
as being established at the government level, but in fact policy
can be formed and influenced by an array of groups, including
LPHAs, advisory boards, foundations, health insurance carriers,
health
professionals, and consumers. These stakeholders can play an
important part in each stage of the policy process.
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