Roles in Resilience: The Intersection of Genetic Counseling, Policy Advocacy, and Community Resilience

ABSTRACT Community resilience involves efforts to prevent major, negative, and disruptive events, recover more quickly from such events, and mitigate against such events happening in the future. Strengthening all aspects of the health care system will play a key role in promoting greater resilience. Genetic counselors play an important role in the health care system, and in regard to resilience they can play an especially important role by not only providing key services, but also advocating for policy to improve areas like maternal health care and protecting reproductive choice. Genetic counselors hold substantial expertise to influence resilience, including the ability to effectively educate the public and develop partnerships across sectors. Genetic counselors have engaged in policy advocacy in regard to issues both directly relevant to their profession (reimbursement, licensing) as well as broader social issues. This article focuses on the current role of genetic counselors in policy advocacy, the role of this work in promoting resilience in areas such as maternal health, and how genetic counselors might expand their influence in the future. Related Articles Bandelow, Nils C., Lina Y. Iskandar, Sofie Klingner, and Ilana Schröder. 2024. “From Local Networks to National Reform? Programmatic Groups in the Regionalization of German Health Policy.” Politics & Policy 52(6): 1310–1330. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12629 . Falkenström, Erica, and Rebecca Selberg. 2025. “Ethical Problems and the Role of Expertise in Health Policy: A Case Study of Public Policy Making in Sweden During COVID‐19.” Politics & Policy 53(1): e12646. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12646 . Silagadze, Nanuli. 2021. “Abortion Referendums: Is There a Recipe for Success?” Politics & Policy 49(2): 352–389. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12398 .