title: Patient advocacy in the USA: key communication role functions.
abstract: Researchers have long documented the importance of patient advocacy programs as a means of providing customer service in health-care organizations. Yet, while effective communication is often acknowledged as key to effective patient advocacy, knowledge of the specific communication role functions enacted by patient advocates remains limited, as does our understanding of the function of patient advocacy at the organizational level. This qualitative investigation not only provides a typology of communication roles enacted by patient advocates while solving problems on behalf of patients and their family members, but also integrates scholarly research on "boundary-spanning" as a means of theoretically contextualizing the advocacy role at the organizational level.
authors: Department of Communication, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USA. dmartin@depaul.edu
authors: Donald R
authors: DR
authors: Martin
authors: Bryan K
authors: BK
authors: Tipton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003142:Communication; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003376:Counseling; D030141:Feedback, Psychological; D005260:Female; D015285:Hospital-Patient Relations; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D017008:Negotiating; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010344:Patient Advocacy / Q000523:psychology*; D011340:Problem Solving; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D024382:Professional Role / Q000523:psychology*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires