Policy Advocacy and Nursing Organizations: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Policy advocacy is a fundamental component of nursing's social mandate. While it has become a core function of nursing organizations across the globe, the discourse around advocacy has focused largely on the responsibilities and accountabilities of individual nurses, with little attention to the policy advocacy work undertaken by nursing organizations. To strengthen this critical function, an understanding of the extant literature is needed to identify areas that require further research. We conducted a scoping review to examine the nature, extent, and range of scholarly work focused on nursing organizations and policy advocacy. A systematic search of six databases produced 4,731 papers and 68 were included for analysis and synthesis. Findings suggest that the literature has been increasing over the years, is largely non-empirical, and covers a broad range of topics ranging from the role and purpose of nursing organizations in policy advocacy, the identity of nursing organizations, the development and process of policy advocacy initiatives, the policy advocacy products of nursing organizations, and the impact and evaluation of organizations’ policy advocacy work. Based on the review, we identify several research gaps and propose areas for further research to strengthen the influence and impact of this critical function undertaken by nursing organizations.

Lessons from professional nursing associations' policy advocacy responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic: An interpretive description

“…While some of the findings pertaining to priority setting and common advocacy strategies align with what is already known in the available body of literature (Chiu et al, 2021), the new knowledge generated from this study offers a unique perspective on policy advocacy undertaken by professional nursing associations in the context of a large‐scale public health crisis. Specifically, this new knowledge includes insights about the role and target audience of nursing associations, the breadth and depth nursing associations' policy advocacy agendas during a pandemic, how leaders working in nursing associations negotiate internal and external factors to determine their policy priorities and advocacy strategies, and their perspectives on policy advocacy evaluation.…”

“…The extant literature offers a snapshot of the breadth and depth of policy issues that nursing organizations have advocated (Chiu et al, 2021); however, the findings in this study offer a unique lens into the kinds of issues that are relevant to professional nursing associations during a global pandemic. In the context of Shamian's (2014) Spheres of Influence Model, organizations included in the study demonstrated their careful attention to policy issues in the nursing, health and public policy spheres at the regional, national, and global levels.…”

“…Although professional nursing associations across the globe have been active in responding to the COVID‐19 pandemic, the breadth and depth of associations' policy advocacy work remain unclear (Chiu et al, 2021). While some scholars and nursing leaders have written about their organizations' policy advocacy work during the COVID‐19 pandemic, the body of literature remains small, with the majority focused on examining the experiences of, and impacts on, nurses.…”

A Theoretically Derived Approach to Impact: Implementing Policy Influence Strategies

“…Literature contribution comes from other seemingly unrelated yet equally valuable sources, such as from reviews of established international organizations (Barrett et al, 2016; IOB Evaluation, 2015; Oxfam, 2014), from generalized academic frameworks (Chapman & Wameyo, 2001; Moore et al, 2013) and from related fields within public health research (Cullerton et al, 2018; Harris-Roxas & Harris, 2011; Kemm, 2001; Veerman, Barendregt, et al, 2006; Veerman, Bekker, et al, 2006). Some studies have delved in analysing purely the ‘advocacy’ dimension of public health (Chapman, 2001, 2004; David et al, 2020), while few studies reviewed also the role of nurses organizations in the process of policy influence and advocacy (Arabi & Ra, 2014; Catallo et al, 2014; Chiu et al, 2021; Moore et al, 2013; Spenceley et al, 2006; van Wijk et al, 2022).…”

Public Opinion Leadership in Nursing Practice: A Rogerian Concept Analysis

“…In North America there is a growing literature on nurse leaders’ influence on policy participation ( Waddell et al, 2017 ), governance ( Porter-O’Grady, 2017 ; Sundean et al, 2020 ), educating nurses in health policy ( Ellenbecker et al, 2017 ; Lewinski & Simmons, 2018 ; Sundean et al, 2019 ; Thomas et al, 2020 ), nursing service on boards of directors ( Prybil et al, 2019 ; Sundean et al, 2017 ), participation in professional nursing organizations ( Gebbie et al, 2000 ) and policy advocacy work ( Chiu et al, 2021 ). In line with other literature, we defined nurse leaders broadly in order to include both formal and informal roles and positions, in and outside the healthcare organization (see for example Cummings et al, 2018 or Sundean et al, 2021 ).…”