Description
Health Resources in Action developed the Preserving and Implementing Water Fluoridation in Your Community toolkit based on 3.5 years of work designing, implementing and providing strategic oversight to community water fluoridation campaigns in Brockton, MA and Hartford, VT. HRiA provided training and technical assistance around community organizing and coalition building as well as policy and communications guidance (behind the scenes) to community-based campaign organizers. HRiA’s approach to community water fluoridation, as evidenced in the toolkit, includes:
- Defining and leading the fluoridation discussion rather than responding to it,
- Mobilizing community support via coalition building and grassroots organizing,
- Using key social marketing strategies to understand community values in order to promote water fluoridation
The toolkit includes a questionnaire to assess community readiness, key messages and tips for talking about fluoridation, strategies to build community water fluoridation and more.
