Abstract
Introduction
Advocacy is essential in both individual patient care and broader healthcare policy, yet osteopathic medical students often face challenges in engaging effectively. While opportunities for advocacy exist, student participation remains inconsistent due to barriers such as lack of time, knowledge, and mentorship. This study evaluates student awareness, confidence, and perceived obstacles in advocacy to assess current engagement strategies. By identifying key barriers and proposing solutions, this research aims to enhance advocacy education and empower students to influence healthcare policy more effectively.
Methodology
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among osteopathic medical students and faculty to assess advocacy engagement, perceived barriers, confidence levels, and preferred training methods. A total of 79 responses were collected with questions covering familiarity with healthcare policy, advocacy challenges, and training preferences. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative content analysis was applied to open-ended responses.
Results & Discussion
This study revealed a significant gap in healthcare policy familiarity among osteopathic medical students and faculty, with only 25.3% reporting that they were "somewhat familiar". Low engagement in advocacy efforts was also noted, as only 8.9% of respondents had participated in an advocacy event, despite 67.1% emphasized the importance of mentorship from physician advocates. These findings highlight the need for formal education, mentorship, and hands-on legislative experiences to bridge the gap in advocacy engagement among osteopathic medical students.
Conclusion
Our survey highlights a significant gap in healthcare policy education and advocacy engagement among osteopathic medical students, faculty, and staff. While advocacy is widely recognized as important, many students feel unfamiliar with policy issues and lack confidence in how to get involved. Despite low current engagement, there is strong interest in advocacy if proper training and support are provided. Integrating structured advocacy education, mentorship, and hands-on opportunities into the curriculum can empower future physicians to drive meaningful policy changes that improved healthcare access and patient outcomes.
