Empowering Students and Influencing Policy Change Through Experiential Public Health Advocacy Education.

Abstract

Public health advocacy is central to the work of many health professionals, including nurses. Although deemed to be a core competency for public health practitioners, courses described in the literature often lack a focus on experiential learning, which is an essential component to acquiring public health advocacy skills. This article describes an innovative, 12-week graduate course that provides students with a combination of theory and experiential learning through an opportunity to engage in political advocacy, community mobilization, and media engagement on a current public health issue. An advocacy campaign undertaken by students to increase community access to the overdose reversal medication naloxone is described in light of the current North American overdose epidemic. Key considerations for teaching public health advocacy to facilitate development of nursing courses elsewhere are highlighted. Public health advocacy education is important and needs to be expanded both within the nursing profession and across all disciplines. [J Nurs Educ. 2019;58(12):698-703.].