Advocacy in Pelvic Health

As the healthcare policy landscape grows increasingly complex, we as OT professionals need collective mobilization like never before.

But, it often feels like our advocacy systems are difficult to navigate — and our lobbying efforts are underfunded.

Against this backdrop, which can seem discouraging, I think it is critical to shine a light on what I consider one of the greatest OT triumphs of the past decade:

Our breakthrough into pelvic health.

This is a story of grassroots organization, individual thought leadership, Facebook groups, podcasts, phone calls, and coordinated collaboration at the individual, state, and national levels.

We are thrilled to have 3 leaders from this movement, Alyson Stover, Carlin Reaume and Lindsey Vestal. Each has played a unique role in this movement and are here to share what they’ve learned from the wins and fails along the way. Ultimately, we hope this story and conversation helps you reflect on your role in advocacy in this new era.

1. You will be able to identify simple steps you can take to advance advocacy for OT in pelvic health.

2. You will be able to recognize the importance of state and national level position statements around pelvic health.

• Intro

• Intro to Alyson Stover and Lindsey Vestal

• Alyson’s vision for OT in Pelvic Health

• Why this practice area has taken off

• Lindsey reflections and advice on being a trailblazer

• Carlin’s reflection and advice on state-level advocacy

• Alyson’s reflection and advice on federal-level advocacy

• How do grassroots movements get started?

• How do state level position paper’s get off the ground

• Pros and cons of state-level position papers

• Current landscape of national movement around pelvic health

• Why was OT was not included in H.R. 2480 Optimizing Postpartum Outcomes Act of 2023

• Hopes for OT advocacy (pelvic health or broader) in the next 5 years

• Simplest steps that someone could take TODAY, to become a better OT advocate

• OTAC Pelvic Health Position Statement

• OTAC Advocacy Center

• Find a Pelvic Floor OT Near Me

• Opportunities to advance postpartum pelvic floor care with a health equity-based Conceptual Framework

• Pelvic floor dysfunction after childbirth: Occupational impact and awareness of available treatment

• Scoping Review of Self-Advocacy Education Interventions to Improve Care

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

OT Potential pays guest speakers an honorarium for their participation, either directly or to an institution of the speaker's choosing at their request. We invite guests whose expertise often comes from practices, programs, or building products in their field. Where a speaker has a financial interest in the subject of a course, we disclose it below so you can weigh it for yourself.

OT Potential's interest in this topic: We have no financial stake in this topic.

Speaker interests: Lindsey Vestal is the founder of The Functional Pelvis and sells AOTA-approved courses teaching therapists how to specialize in pelvic health and start a private-pay business. She mentions these courses during the discussion.

Carlin Reaume owns Supported Mama, a pelvic floor therapy practice.

Alyson Stover served as President of the American Occupational Therapy Association at the time of this recording. She owns Capable Kids, a private outpatient pediatric occupational therapy practice.