SOPT Advocacy

Every year since 2005, the AAP Section on Pediatric Trainees (SOPT) has implemented an advocacy campaign. The Section's Child Health Workgroup works closely with AAP staff to choose the campaign and to develop the materials and resources. The campaign kicks off at the SOPT Program at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition in the fall each year.

Annual Advocacy Campaign 2022 - 2023:
Racing Against ACEs

Why does SOPT conduct an annual advocacy campaign?
Every year, the Section on Pediatric Trainees (SOPT) organizes an advocacy campaign around a topic relevant to children’s health. The campaigns are designed and implemented by the Section’s advocacy campaign chairs, under the guidance of the SOPT Executive Coordinator of Child Health. The campaigns serve to educate medical students, residents, and fellowship trainees about the chosen topic, while introducing them to the many ways the AAP will help them advocate for children over the course of their careers. To accomplish these dual goals:

1. We guide our members in the development and implementation of advocacy projects using the AAP’s Community Pediatrics Training Initiative curriculum as a guide;
2. We connect our members with research and advocacy mentors through AAP sections, councils and committees;
3. We encourage trainees to apply for AAP funding to support their projects;
4. We involve our members in the review of the Academy’s policies concerning the annual topic;
5. We encourage our members to write resolutions to influence the Academy’s activities on the annual topic.

By using the annual campaigns as a vehicle to introduce these resources, we hope to encourage a lifetime of involvement in the AAP, and to make advocacy a central tenet of our members’ careers.

Overview of Racing Against ACEs Campaign
Through events and activities such as skills training exercises, expert speaker series, and other activities, AAP members will learn the latest around how to recognize and address ACEs within their patient populations and become part of a larger movement to address the structural determinants of health.

Trimester 1: UNDERSTAND | Learning will focus on the latest science behind ACEs with a focus on the role of systems on ACEs and vice versa. How have ACEs been defined? How are these definitions changing? How can we challenge our current knowledge to better serve our patients?

Trimester 2: EVALUATE | What are current practices for ACEs screening? How has this changed over time? How can we expand or target these screenings to be more effective? What innovative tactics are being implemented?

Trimester 3: RESPOND | What actions have pediatricians taken to address ACEs? How can our voices create systemic change at the personal, institutional, and broader policy levels?.

To learn more, visit the SOPT Advocacy Campaign Members-Only page, and check out the SOPT Calendar on the SOPT Members-Only Home Page for events and deadlines (AAP login required). If you would like to get more involved in this campaign, please fill out the SOPT contact us form.