Advocacy and raising disease area awareness
Advocacy involves speaking or acting to ensure that your, or someone else's, voice is heard.
Patients’ organisations are important advocates, representing patients and their families/carers, and as such, take action to ensure their views are expressed and that needs are addressed. By providing advocacy services, patients’ organisations enable patients, families and carers to participate in healthcare decisions that affect their lives.
Provision of a good advocacy service should ideally include:
Stakeholder support
Stakeholders, including other patients’ organisations, healthcare professional associations, government and industry, may be able to support your organisation’s advocacy activities or be patient advocates themselves. By working with them, you can increase the impact of your advocacy voice.