Priorities and strategies for promoting community-based prevention policies.

The public health community faces major choices in priorities for its mission in a rapidly changing environment. One option is to place greater emphasis on public health policy development. Policy making requires a grasp of the interplay among stakeholders, policy makers, the press, and the public. A framework for gathering relevant information and guiding strategic action is a useful tool for participation in community, state, and national arenas in the interests of population health. Organization-targeted approaches can make policy advocacy, community mobilization, and public education about policy issues more effective. This requires investment in public health infrastructure.