Making Advocacy Part of Your Job: Working for Children in Any Practice Setting

Abstract

Effective child health advocacy is an essential strategy to improve child health, and can improve access to equitable care. It can also be professionally rewarding and improve career satisfaction. However, while advocacy has been a part of pediatrics since its origins as a specialty, many barriers to engaging in health advocacy exist which can be challenging to navigate. There are a wide range of organizational practice settings, which are each accompanied by unique strengths and limitations. No matter the practice setting, pediatricians can be effective advocates for child health through leveraging organizational, professional, and community resources and partnerships.

Keywords: Advocacy; Child health; Community advocacy; Legislative advocacy; Medical education.