Civic Engagement

Health

• reflects and gives life to our society’s most important values: opportunity, fairness, justice, equity, and democracy
• is shaped by certain conditions, such as the health care we receive and where we live, work, eat, learn, and play
• depends on having the opportunity and ability to influence these conditions

Simply put, people who have a voice–whether in the exam room, in the voting booth, or in civic and community life–tend to be healthier.   And the more voices there are, the healthier our democracy becomes.  This is Rx: Democracy.

The NPA is committed to advancing the civic engagement of physicians and patients through leadership development, coalition building, and voter education.

>>Click Here to Promote Civic Engagement with Rx: Democracy<<

>>Download a free 2012 Poster for Your Workplace!<<

The NPA is a founding member of Rx Democracy, a national nonpartisan network of more than 18 national and regional groups representing America’s best clinicians, health professionals and students. Together with concerned citizens’ groups, this network helps patients and those who care for them to have a voice in their health care and their community.  We partner with civic organizations to provide opportunities for nonpartisan voter and civic engagement in health care settings and beyond.

If you believe that voting and civic participation are healthy activities, join our Rx: Democracy network to make sure everyone has the tools and information they need for a healthy democracy.

Related Articles and Presentations:

• Manchanda, R. and Silver-Isenstadt, J. (2010), A prescription for a healthier democracy: The role of health care in civic participation. National Civic Review, 99: 48–53. doi: 10.1002/ncr.20020

• “Innovations at the Intersection of Health Care, Democracy, and Civic Engagement” seminar at Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, presenter Rishi Manchanda, MD MPH, NPA Board Member and Founder & Chair, Rx: Democracy, Boston, MA, 10/20/2010

• “Advancing voter and civic engagement within health care to address health disparities,”
  Rx: Democracy presentation by NPA board member Rishi Manchanda at the American Public Health Association’s 138th meeting, 11/9/ 2010
• Grande D, Asch DA, Armstrong K., “Do Doctors Vote?” J Gen Intern Med. 2007 May;22(5):585-9.

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