Resident Lurie Children's Hospital Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Chicago, Illinois, United States
Background: Health advocacy training is essential to pediatric postgraduate medical education. However, most pediatric trainee advocacy education is limited to a 2 to 4-week advocacy rotation. A needs assessment at our program showed that most residents agreed with a physician’s duty to advocate, but fewer reported regular participation. Primary barriers were time and knowledge. We sought to understand whether a longitudinal curriculum would equip residents with the skills needed to effectively engage in a range of advocacy activities.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a longitudinal, resident-led advocacy curriculum by comparing resident knowledge, attitudes and self-reported participation in legislative advocacy pre- and post-intervention.
Design/Methods: This study was performed at a single center pediatric residency program. The curricular intervention consisted of weekly 5-10 minute resident-led presentations during educational conferences, ending with a suggested action-item. Topics included immigration, systemic racism, gun violence prevention, social influencers of health and pandemic-related inequality. Residents were asked to complete a follow-up survey 6 months (25 presentations) into the intervention. Survey data were collected using REDCap. Unique identifiers allowed for data tracking. Residents were compensated for participation with a $10 gift card.
Results: Overall, 63% (n=61/97) of eligible residents completed the pre-intervention survey and 56% (n=34/61) of those respondents completed the post-intervention survey. The number of residents who could accurately define public charge increased from 50% (n=17/34) pre- to 71% (n=24/34) post-intervention (p=0.14). At baseline, 74% (n=25/34) of residents reported participating in at least one form of non-clinical advocacy in the past 6 months, with only 50% (n=17/34) participating more than once. Post intervention, 100% (n=34/34, p<0.01) of residents reported participating in at least one form of non-clinical advocacy in the past 6 months, with 91% (n=31/34) participating more than once (p<0.01). Conclusion(s): Pediatric residents understand the importance of physician advocacy, but participate at lower rates than their attitudes would suggest. A resident-led, action-oriented longitudinal advocacy curriculum that requires minimal time and targets knowledge gaps can be effective in increasing participation in advocacy to help address health disparities facing pediatric populations on a broader systems-level scale.
Table 1: Participant Demographics
Figure 1: Resident Participation
Authors/Institutions: Brooke K. Pfister, Ann and Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States; Erin E. Klein, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States; Karen Rychlik, Lurie Children's Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, United States; Sameer J. Patel, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States
