Advocating for yourself: Tips, support, and resources
A person can self-advocate by gaining knowledge about their healthcare rights and taking action to improve the level of care they receive. Learning to self-advocate can help people understand their rights and actively participate in and receive better care.
Some people face challenges and barriers when seeking healthcare, such as discrimination or feeling that doctors dismiss their concerns.
Certain groups, such as Black people, women, those with obesity, and LGBTQIA+ communities, may encounter additional healthcare barriers due to discrimination.
Self-advocacy may be helpful to individuals who feel that healthcare professionals dismiss their concerns or fail to provide adequate or equitable care.
This article offers tips for self-advocating at the doctor's office and discusses a person's rights. It also discusses a person's options when they feel a doctor is not listening to their healthcare concerns and offers support and resources. Maskot/Getty Images
Gathering information about their condition, treatment options, and rights as patients may help them feel more confident in a healthcare setting. By learnin g as much as they can, they may feel more empowered to communicate with healthcare professionals and participate in decisions about their healthcare.
Before making an appointment, a person may also want to do some research to determine whether a healthcare professional is the right fit for them. It may be helpful to visit the doctor's website and read online reviews.
A person may find it helpful to prepare for an appointment by writing down or memorizing the questions they would like to ask a healthcare professional.
Planning ahead may help an individual avoid feeling overwhelmed during the appointment. It may also help them feel more confident if they are worried that a healthcare professional might rush them or dismiss their concerns.
It is important for a person to understand their health circumstances and healthcare plan as a self-advocate.
One of an individual's rights as a patient is to be able to ask questions about their health and the treatments a healthcare professional recommen ds. A person should feel comfortable asking their doctor for clarification until they fully understand their health status and healthcare plan.
Self-advocacy involves actively participating in decision making about one's healthcare. This can include asserting certain healthcare preferences, including diagnostic methods and treatment options. requesting specific, relevant, evidence-based treatment options
questioning the treatment options a doctor suggests to understand the potential risks and benefits, and enquiring about relevant alternatives
asking the doctor to use diagnostic methods or treatment plans that accommodate certain preferences, such as preferring not to give an unnecessary weight measurement
A person may want to ask a friend or family member to accompany them to a healthcare appointment. This can help them feel supported, confident, and less overwhelmed.
A companion may support a person during the appointment by: taking notes
asking clarifying questions
helping to assert preferences
voicing dissatisfaction
Keeping detailed records of their medical history can help a person communicate with healthcare professionals more effectively. It may also help prevent a healthcare professional from dismissing concerns or making assumptions.
A person may want to record: the dates and outcomes of previous appointments
their ongoing symptoms or symptom progression
other healthcare professionals and specialists they have met with
medical tests they have undergone
prior medications and other treatments
A person's rights as a patient include the right to obtain a second opinion.
An individual may want to contact another doctor for various reasons. These include: wanting to confirm their doctor's advice
not clearly understanding their doctor's assessment or recommendations
feeling uncomfortable with their doctor's methods or recommendations
wanting to explore alternative treatment options
wanting treatment from a healthcare professional who is more understanding of their needs
Self-advocacy in a healthcare setting can help a person understand, communicate, and assert their patient rights.
When individuals can communicate with healthcare professionals effectively and participate in making decisions, they may receive more satisfactory, equitable care.
If a person is unaware of their patient rights, they may feel as if they're overstepping boundaries or causing an inconvenience by self-advocating. However, self-advocacy goals align closely with patient rights. ask questions about their health status and recommended treatment, and have their questions answered
make decisions about the care that a doctor recommends, and have those decisions respected
obtain copies or summaries of their medical records
receive information from their doctor and have the opportunity to discuss the risks and benefits of appropriate treatment alternatives
receive timely, responsive treatment for their needs
be treated with courtesy, dignity, and respect
obtain a second opinion
If a person feels their doctor is dismissive of their health concerns, and self-advocacy techniques like asking for clarification and expressing preferences are not effective, they may want to switch to a different healthcare professional.
Individuals can do some quick research online to try and find healthcare professionals and settings that may be able to better meet their needs. This can involve checking websites, reviews, and intake forms. They can also speak to trusted friends, family, or support groups and ask them to suggest doctors with whom they have had good experiences.
A person may also want to contact a healthcare facility before making an appointment to discuss any concerns and ask questions about the care they provide.
If a person has a negative experience with a healthcare professional, they can ask the medical office to record their concerns. They may also be able to help others decide whether to seek care from a health professional by submitting a review of their experience online.
Some people may face additional challenges in healthcare due to discrimination. These include: people of color
women
LGBTQIA+ communities
those with obesity
The following resources may help people find support: The Association of Black Women Physicians (ABWP): The ABWP provides programs and information that support the mental health and well-being of Black people and support African American women in medicine.
The ABWP provides programs and information that support the mental health and well-being of Black people and support African American women in medicine. White Coats for Black Lives (WC4BL): WC4BL provides information and various resources that aim to improve health equity for Black people and people of color.
WC4BL provides information and various resources that aim to improve health equity for Black people and people of color. The NAACP: The NAACP is an advocacy organization that aims to end racial inequality. The organization aims to provide health funding for African American people and advocates for resources to reduce health disparities.
The NAACP is an advocacy organization that aims to end racial inequality. The organization aims to provide health funding for African American people and advocates for resources to reduce health disparities. The OASH Office on Women's Health (OWH): The OWH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The organization provides information, support, and resources for women's health.
The is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The organization provides information, support, and resources for women's health. The Alliance for Women's Health & Prevention (AWHP): The AWHP is an advocacy organization that aims to help women access healthcare and advance policy to drive equitable care.
The AWHP is an advocacy organization that aims to help women access healthcare and advance policy to drive equitable care. Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA): The GLMA offers a directory of LGBTQIA+-friendly healthcare professionals.
The GLMA offers a directory of LGBTQIA+-friendly healthcare professionals. Out2Enroll: Out2Enroll is an organization that offers various resources for LGBTQIA+ healthcare, including information about gender affirming care, help finding a doctor, and help managing discrimination.
Out2Enroll is an organization that offers various resources for LGBTQIA+ healthcare, including information about gender affirming care, help finding a doctor, and help managing discrimination. HAES Health Sheets: This website provides several resources that may be helpful for people with obesity, including weight-friendly health professionals, self-advocacy information, and healthcare research.
This website provides several resources that may be helpful for people with obesity, including weight-friendly health professionals, self-advocacy information, and healthcare research. The Obesity Action Coalition: This organization provides various resources for people with obesity.
This organization provides various resources for people with obesity. Solace: This organization is covered by most Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans. It can provide advocacy services and private practice advocates that a person can use and pay for out of pocket.
Self-advocacy can help people experience more satisfactory healthcare. Advocating can involve gaining knowledge, preparing for appointments, asserting preferences, and participating in decision making.
Self-advocacy aligns closely with people's patient rights, which include the right to clear information from healthcare professionals, the right to make healthcare decisions, and the right to be treated with courtesy, dignity, and respect.
Some groups of people may face additional healthcare challenges due to bias and discrimination. Self-advocacy may help empower people to question healthcare professionals and practices and gain access to equitable care. Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.
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Anna's partner, Masa, who grew up in Japan with a single mother and no father figure, is more interested in which pram to buy than spending time with the baby, although when breastfeeding isn't working he accuses Anna of starving their child. Anna's reaction to their relationship breakdown is underpinned by her coming from a country with a strong history of women's rights — she doesn't want their son 'to learn that women are the ones who will take care of all the world's population when babies are born'. In Kenya, Chelsea, 23, gets pregnant after an affair with a married man from a different tribe because of a faulty morning-after pill. Many Kenyan women rely on this pill as there is stigma around other forms of contraception. Birth in Kenya has a lot in common with the US — both are countries with vast gaps between rich and poor, and if you can't afford a private birth it's brutal. Chelsea asks for an epidural and is told it costs US$300, which she can't afford. 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In my experience we are overstretched on the medical side but lucky that it's free, there is pain relief and choice around birth (albeit with some bias from the NHS towards inductions over caesarean sections). • Sexism is still entrenched, with women taking most of the caring burden — and this is not helped by regressive paternity leave policies. Two weeks' paternity leave is nowhere near enough, nor is statutory maternity pay of £187.18 a week (less than the London living wage). Childcare costs are astronomically high too, but there are growing movements of women campaigning for more support. Four Mothers is part of this movement. It's public interest journalism at its best — powerful human stories peppered with well-chosen facts. When describing Tsukasa's relief at finding women to talk to, Leonard quotes the psychologist Aurélie Athan: 'Debriefing with other new mothers is crucial to psychological wellbeing. It's similar to what trauma victims require. 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