“Working with Housing Arkansas was ideal,” said Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Research and Policy Director for Children’s HealthWatch. “Research that is not presented in a way that resonates with people, especially decision-makers, or seem relevant in their world is impractical. We want our research to be used to advance policies to improve the lives of children. Increasing the supply of healthy, affordable homes is absolutely one of those policies.”

Ettinger de Cuba emphasized the benefits of being in dialogue with Housing Arkansas while Children’s HealthWatch was in the process of writing the report. The message frames helped ensure the report would resonate with the public and media. Housing Arkansas was able to review drafts and provide feedback. As a practice, Children’s HealthWatch seeks out input from advocates who are expert in their field to ‘ground test’ reports before they are released.

“I think most public health researchers are thrilled when they can connect to advocates working on their issue,” said Ettinger de Cuba. “I would encourage advocates to pay attention to research that is happening at local universities and to reach out to researchers when you see a potential opportunity.”