Predicting Patient Advocacy Engagement: A Multiple Regression Analysis Using Data From Health Professionals in Acute-Care Hospitals

Patient advocacy in nursing: A concept analysis

Background:

The concept of patient advocacy is still poorly understood and not clearly conceptualized. Therefore, there is a gap between the ideal of patient advocacy and the reality of practice. In order to increase nursing actions as a patient advocate, a comprehensive and clear definition of this concept is necessary.

Research objective:

This study aimed to offer a comprehensive and clear definition of patient advocacy.

Research design:

A total of 46 articles and 2 books published between 1850 and 2016 and related to the concept of patient advocacy were selected from six databases and considered for concept analysis based on Rodgers’ evolutionary approach.

Ethical considerations:

This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Tarbiat Modares University.

Findings:

The attributes of patient advocacy are safeguarding (track medical errors, and protecting patients from incompetency or misconduct of co-workers and other members of healthcare team), apprising (providing information about the patient’s diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, suggesting alternatives of healthcare, and providing information about discharge program), valuing (maintaining self-control, enabling patients to make decisions freely, maintaining individualization and humanity, maintaining patient privacy, and acting in the patients’ values, culture, beliefs, and preferences), mediating (liaison between patients, families, and healthcare professionals, being patients’ voice, and communicate patient preferences and cultural values to members of the healthcare team), and championing social justice in the provision of healthcare (confronting inappropriate policies or rules in the healthcare system, identifying and correcting inequalities in delivery of health services, and facilitating access to community health services and health resources).

Discussion and conclusion:

The analysis of this concept can help to develop educational or managerial theories, design instruments for evaluating the performance of nurses in patient advocacy, develop strategies for enhancing patient advocacy, and improve the safety and quality of nursing care in the community and healthcare system.

Perspectives on Self-Advocacy: Comparing Perceived Uses, Benefits, and Drawbacks Among Survivors and Providers

Purpose/Objectives

To describe and compare survivors' and providers' views of the uses of and perceived benefits and drawbacks of survivor self-advocacy.

Design

A cross-sectional, two-group, mixed-methods survey.

Setting

Survivors were recruited from local and national registries and advocacy organizations. Providers were recruited from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Cancer Center and a regional Oncology Nursing Society chapter.

Sample

122 female cancer survivors and 39 providers involved in their direct care.

Methods

Quantitative survey data were summarized using descriptive statistics, including means and frequencies. Qualitative survey data were collected and analyzed using content analysis techniques, and main themes were counted and summarized.

Main Research Variables

Perceptions of the uses, benefits, and drawbacks of female cancer survivor self-advocacy.

Findings

Survivors and providers perceived similar but distinct uses of self-advocacy. Survivors and providers generally agreed on the potential benefits of self-advocacy but had different views of the potential drawbacks. Survivors were most concerned with finding and making sense of information, that their questions would not be answered, and having a worse relationship with their provider; providers were concerned with increases in clinic time and difficulties developing treatment plans.

Conclusions

Although survivors and providers recognized similar benefits to survivor self-advocacy, they had different views of the uses and drawbacks of female cancer survivor self-advocacy.

Implications for Nursing

Attempts to increase self-advocacy among female cancer survivors must address survivors’ and providers’ views and apprehensions about self-advocacy.