Health advocacy is integral to advancing the health and well-being of patients and families, communities and populations. Advocates deliver on their social accountability mandate for improving local, national and global health care. Advocates focus attention on and communicate for and support effective change on behalf of, or with: patients and families, health care partners and system leaders and stakeholders.
1. Identify and respond in a socially accountable manner to the health care needs of patients and families by advocating for and with them in promoting healthy behavior and disease prevention.
1.1 Utilize determinants of health including environmental, social, behavioral and health system perspectives when improving access to care.
1.2 Work with patients and families to adopt healthy behaviours.
1.3 Demonstrate skills that advance health promotion and surveillance to positively influence the health of patients and their families.
2. Identify and respond in a socially accountable way to the health care needs of communities or populations served by advocating for system-level change that promotes healthy outcomes and disease prevention.
2.1 Engage with communities and/or populations to identify and address determinants of health including environmental, social, behavioral and system policies that impact their health.
2.2 Advance patient care by health promotion, disease prevention and health surveillance in the communities served.
2.3 Apply health knowledge to a quality improvement process that positively improves the health of the communities and populations served.