Advocate

Patients Have a Voice

VeDA advocates for the vestibular community to increase awareness about vestibular disorders, while implementing programs to reduce diagnosis times and improve treatment effectiveness, thereby improving the quality of life for vestibular patients.

• Read about VeDA’s advocacy strategy in our Advocacy Plan and learn more about Public Policy Advocacy.
• Download VeDA’s Advocacy Toolkit to learn how you can make a difference.
• Interested in becoming involved in legislative advocacy? Let us know!
• Take action now.

You can be an advocate for vestibular awareness!

• Share your story
• Become a VeDA Ambassador
• Volunteer with VeDA
• Follow VeDA on Facebook – “Like” and “Share” our posts
• Write a letter to your legislator (Not sure who they are? Find out here)
• Share our “Top Ten Facts About Vestibular Disorders“
• Participate in Balance Awareness Week
• Give a presentation about balance disorders
• Host an information table about vestibular disorders at a health fair

Don’t forget to contact us and tell us how you are helping to raise awareness about vestibular disorders!

What is public policy advocacy?

Advocacy encompasses a wide range of activities that influence decision makers. Advocacy may include traditional activities such as lobbying, and public education. It can also include relationship building, forming networks, and raising awareness through public commentary.

To influence the legislative debate on issues of importance to you, establish a relationship with your Members of Congress and their staffs by introducing yourself, VeDA, and vestibular issues through letters, e-mails, and meetings.

Why is it important?

Vestibular disorders are widely misunderstood by legislators. These are the people who make decisions about your healthcare, research funding, and insurance coverage. As a citizen and constituent, you have a right to communicate your thoughts and ideas to legislators, federal officials, and the White House. If you want to see action taken to increase federal funding for vestibular research, better insurance coverage for vestibular testing and treatment, and overall improvement in healthcare policies, you need to make your voice heard – we need to make our collective voices heard.

VeDA’s goals

VEDA’s goal is to reduce the time it takes for vestibular patients to receive an accurate diagnosis and improve their treatment outcomes. To achieve these goals, we must:

• Increase the amount of funding allocated toward research into the diagnosis and treatment of vestibular disorders.
• Improve diagnostic criteria for the many different types of inner ear and brain balance disorders.
• Create systematic protocols for the triage, diagnosis and treatment of vestibular patients.
• Ensure that necessary diagnostic tests and treatments are covered by insurance.
• Make it easier for vestibular patients who can no longer work to receive disability insurance.

VeDA’s methods

• Connect with elected officials; cultivate those relationships.
• Educate policy makers on issues that affect vestibular diagnosis and treatment.
• Stay up to date on policy decisions impacting vestibular disorders.
• Provide tools to help patients become effective advocates.

What you can do

• Send a letter to your local, state and/or federal legislator.
• Call your local, state and/or federal legislator.
• Attend town hall meetings. Introduce yourself and share your concerns about the lack of awareness about vestibular disorders.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper telling the story of your vestibular journey.
• Contact your local TV or radio station and encourage them to talk about vestibular disorders (refer them to VeDA for more information).
• Engage your family and friends in your advocacy efforts.

Current advocacy efforts

• Tell Medicare to cover essential vestibular testing: Download VeDA’s letter to Medicare asking them to cover the Canalith Repositioning Procedure (CRP) for BPPV, Computerized Dynamic Posturography (CDP), and Videonystagmography (VNG) and customize it with your story and signature.