The relationship between patient advocacy practice of nurses and their assertiveness

Advocacy is a highly essential concept in nursing care. Some characteristics of nurses are considered among influencing factors on their patient advocacy attitude and practice. This descriptive - analytical study aimed to assess the relationship between assertiveness and patient advocacy among nurses working in the six educational hospitals affiliated to Birjand University of Medical Science located in the Southern Khorasan Province, in 2014. In this study, 248 nurses were selected via randomized stratified sampling. Data were collected using demographic characteristics form, Hanks’s Protective Nursing Advocacy Scale (PNAS) (2008) and Assertiveness Questionnaire developed by Begley and Glacken (2004). Data were analyzed in SPSS (version 16) using descriptive and analytic statistical tests. The results show the majority of participants (90.7%) had a moderate level of advocacy. Also, most of the participants (86.8%) reported moderate levels of assertiveness. There was a positive significant association between participants’ advocacy total scores and their scores on assertiveness questionnaire (p=0.02, r=0.15). The total mean score of advocacy and some of its components were significantly higher in the nurses who had a history of participation in the ethical education programs than those who had not such a history (p<0.05). The findings suggest programs be designed to improve assertiveness and professional ethics among nurses.