Nurses as advocates:
Nurses are historically patient advocates, centered around empathy (understanding) and protection (safe patient care and protection of rights). Enshrined in the Code of Ethics for Nurses is the foundation for advocacy: Respect for the inherent dignity, worth and uniqueness of every patient, unrestricted by social and economic status, personal attributes or the nature of the health problem and Commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group or community.
Effective advocacy must address the systematic problems that contribute to or cause individual need. Nurses instinctively advocate for patients, in their workplaces and in their communities, and legislative and political advocacy is equally important to advancing the profession and patient care. The role of nurses as health policy advocates in based in two fundamental beliefs: 1- Nurses can have an influential and powerful voice as public policy advocates and 2- Nurses have expertise related to health care and human rights, as we witness that intersection regularly.
How does ANAC support nurse advocacy?
A component of our mission is to advocate for the rights and welfare of people living with or at risk for HIV across the world. We seek to include the voices of nurses in all levels of public policy discussions that address HIV-related health and the welfare and rights of individuals locally and globally. This is amplified in a core ideology of ANAC: public policy must be grounded in patient advocacy, human rights, compassion and social justice. ANAC advocacy efforts are led by the
ANAC policy & advocacy committee.
- Access to Care for all people living with or at risk for HIV
- Human Rights for all people living with or at risk for HIV
- Evidence-based HIV and related prevention, care and treatment programs
- Recognition of nursing and HIV workforce issues that impact the quality of HIV care
The priorities provide the framework for individual, chapter and organizational efforts in education and advocacy on specific health policy issues. ANAC works in coalition with other national and global HIV, health policy and nursing organizations to advance the issues that are reflected in our policy agenda.
Increasing awareness and understanding of key policy issues in HIV at local, state, regional, national and global levels is a responsibility of the policy committee. Through a series of
webinars, policy issues that affect HIV care are examined and recommendations developed.
To support nurses as health policy advocates, ANAC developed an
Advocacy Toolkit. It provides a basic overview of advocacy strategies and tactics. Key to all of them is the role of nurses and other healthcare providers in advocacy for sound public policies that enhance health, well-being, equality and social justice.
