Introduction: What is Advocacy?
I did a quick Google search to find a good definition and found a great webpage: An advocate is a person who argues for, recommends, or supports a cause or policy. Advocacy is also about helping people find their voice. There are three types of advocacy – self-advocacy, individual advocacy and systems advocacy.~ http://cedwvu.org/resources/types-of-advocacy/
You’re Already An Advocate!
By being interested in learning how to work better within the healthcare system you’re advocating for yourself or the person you’re a care partner with. Showing up prepared and learning what questions you need to ask goes a long, long way to building your networks and getting more effective healthcare. Consider this: By learning how to better advocate for yourself you’re also an advocate by being a role model for others – including other patients and family care partners AND physicians and other healthcare providers.
How Can We Advocate? A Brainstorming Exercise…
There are many ways to advocate within the healthcare space than may be apparent by the short list of categories above. We’re already advocating for ourselves – and that’s no small thing in healthcare where the predominant expectation is still that we do what doctors tell us to. Many of us find that self-advocacy skills are important in navigating a siloed system where we can end up with countless specialists, all expecting us to pick up ‘new work‘ tasks. Consider the other 2 categories outlined in the website cited above:
- Individual Advocacy – We can help another person learn how to advocate or provide support for them while they begin to advocate for themselves. What could this look like? How have you been able to help someone else self-advocate? How did it go? What did you learn?
- Systems Advocacy – How can we help others learn about what’s expected of patients and care partners in the healthcare system? How can we have an impact on making positive changes?
What are some ideas you have for advocating within the healthcare system? This is a brainstorming exercise … you’re NOT to run out and do these things alone. Advocacy is, for the most part, a team sport! I’d love to hear your thoughts on these aspects of advocacy.
