Mainey, Lydia, Richardson, Sarah, Essex, Ryan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3497-3137 and Dillard-Wright, Jessica (2024) Nursing advocacy and activism: a critical analysis of regulatory documents. Nursing Ethics. ISSN 0969-7330 (Print), 1477-0989 (Online) (doi:10.1177/09697330241299525)

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Abstract

Background: Advocacy and activism are dynamic terms representing a spectrum of political action, aiming to achieve social or political change. The extent to which nursing advocacy and activism are legitimate nursing roles has been debated for around 50 years. Nursing regulatory documents, such as codes of conduct and professional standards, may provide direction to nurses on how they should act in the context of advocacy and activism.

Aim: To explore what regulatory documents say about advocacy and activism, either explicitly or implicitly, and how they shape advocacy and activism.

Research design: We used a Reflexive Qualitative Document Analysis approach with a Critical Feminist lens to analyse contemporary nursing regulatory documents from the USA, UK and Australia.

Ethical considerations: This article has no human participants, and informed consent was not required.

Findings: We identified eight nursing regulatory documents from the American Nurses Association, Nursing and Midwifery Council and Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. We constructed two major themes that reveal how nursing advocacy and activism are conceived and shaped in regulatory documents. Theme 1, Ideological arena describes the gendered and neoliberal subtexts influencing advocacy and activism. Theme 2, A five-pointed star, describes the shape of advocacy and activism in the regulatory documents.

Conclusions: Regulatory documents from the USA, UK and Australia support diplomatic nursing advocacy and activism for people, equity, ourselves (nurses), the profession and systems change. However, more oppositional and disruptive advocacy and activism are potentially constrained by gendered and neoliberal subtexts that depoliticise nurses’ roles.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	nursing advocacy, nursing activism, regulatory documents
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare J Political Science > J General legislative and executive papers R Medicine > RT Nursing
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development > Centre for Chronic Illness and Ageing Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development > Centre for Professional Workforce Development Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Health Sciences (HEA)
Last Modified:	09 Dec 2024 14:03
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/48454

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