Examining Advocacy Activity and Self-Efficacy Among Health Educators

A professional responsibility for health education specialists is “communicate, promote, and advocate for health, health education/promotion, and the profession” as described by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which health educators incorporate advocacy into their professional responsibilities. Additionally, this study looked at factors that impede or foster advocacy self-efficacy among health educators. Eight participants completed a 30-45 minute in-depth interview about their advocacy experiences and self-efficacy levels/influencers. Results indicated performance accomplishments and vicarious experiences were the most critical factors leading to participants’ self-reported increase in self-efficacy. Recommendations for increasing advocacy self-efficacy are described.