title: Predicting Levels of Policy Advocacy Engagement Among Acute-Care Health Professionals.
abstract: This study aims to describe the factors that predict health professionals' engagement in policy advocacy. The researchers used a cross-sectional research design with a sample of 97 nurses, 94 social workers, and 104 medical residents from eight hospitals in Los Angeles. Bivariate correlations explored whether seven predictor scales were associated with health professionals' policy advocacy engagement and revealed that five of the eight factors were significantly associated with it (p < .05). The factors include patient advocacy engagement, eagerness, skills, tangible support, and organizational receptivity. Regression analysis examined whether the seven scales, when controlling for sociodemographic variables and hospital site, predicted levels of policy advocacy engagement. Results revealed that patient advocacy engagement (p < .001), eagerness (p < .001), skills (p < .01), tangible support (p < .01), perceived effectiveness (p < .05), and organizational receptivity (p < .05) all predicted health professional's policy advocacy engagement. Ethical commitment did not predict policy advocacy engagement. The model explained 36% of the variance in policy advocacy engagement. Limitations of the study and its implications for future research, practice, and policy are discussed.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA jansson@usc.edu.
authors.forename: Bruce S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Jansson
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Adeline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nyamathi
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, Whittier College, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Gretchen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Heidemann
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bird
authors.affiliation: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Cathy Rogers
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brown-Saltzman
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003422:Critical Care / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010344:Patient Advocacy / Q000523:psychology* / Q000639:trends*
keywords: advocacy; ethics; nursing workforce; patient-centered care; political action; quality of care