Patient advocacy in nursing: Barriers, facilitators and potential implications

Abstract

Objective: to promote reflection upon the barriers, facilitators and potential implications of patient advocacy on the part of nurses. Results: this reflection results from a thorough reading of the international literature addressing patient advocacy along with Brazilian and international studies addressing moral distress and its relationship with patient advocacy. Conclusion: the barriers imposed on patient advocacy are well-known and such constraints are based on the organizational structure of health institutions and power relationships established between doctors and nurses, challenging and discouraging nurses from acting in accordance with their knowledge and conscience, often leading to a condition known as moral distress.