Question

What is meant by the costs and benefits of advocacy? Explain in detail. Select a specific current US problem that may cause social workers to act as advocates today, and explain what the costs and benefits of advocating for that particular cause might be.

Answer 1

Costs and benefits of advocacy

The success of advocacy as a method of problem solving or resolution is tied in part to the advocates’ philosophy of searching for solutions rather than problems. As a health worker acting as an advocate, you may be able to find ways to resolve the community’s health-related problems. In some situations you may have to act as a health advocate and provide ongoing representational advocacy for your community. Advocates should be particularly good at identifying the strengths of their own community, and should help them find ways of solving health-related problems.

There are several benefits of advocacy:

· Advocacy helps your community’s voice to be heard

· It provides you with information, support, and services to help you make choices.

· Helps you to get people to understand your point of view

· Makes it easier for you to get information in a way that you can understand

· Helps you to see what other services are available

· Helps you choose what you want to do

· Helps with expressing your views effectively

· Represents your community’s views faithfully and effectively

· Helps influential people understand the issues.

o Helps workers focus, target and choose what they want to do

o Helps workers represent their community’s views truthfully, because the community is involved in the process

o Includes influential people in health education action

o Enables the community to work towards solving problems

o Overall advocacy enables the community’s voice to be heard.

It is important to remember that advocacy is not about being a friend or counsellor, or about persuading other people to agree with your views. Nor is it about the advocate deciding what is in another person’ best interests.

Advocacy is not an alternative complaints procedure, but may involve the advocate in supporting the person in making a complaint effectively. In addition, it is not campaigning, although it may highlight problems and gaps in particular services. Above all, advocacy is not providing social support, for example, managing someone’s financial affairs or organising transport for them, nor is it a long-term service.

Summary of the answer

1. Advocacy is speaking up, and drawing policy makers and the community’s attention to an important health issue.

2. Advocacy is working with other people and organisations to improve the health of the community.

3. The first two steps in any advocacy campaign are selecting the health issue that needs advocacy work, and then developing the goals and objectives.

4. Without a clear, articulated issue and well-defined goals and objectives, the remaining steps of the advocacy campaign will lose focus.

5. You also need to remember that the goals and objectives of your advocacy work are to facilitate changes and new policy developments, in order to tackle unmet health needs or any emerging health needs of your community.

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