Modifiable Factors that Support Political Participation by Nurses

Area of Science:

• Health Policy
• Nursing
• Political Science

Background:

• Political participation is crucial for nurses due to their clinical expertise impacting health policy.
• Nurses are a significant and trusted group of healthcare providers, yet face obstacles to political engagement.
• A gap exists in understanding how nurses pursue and respond to political participation and civic engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify modifiable factors that enhance political participation among nurses.
• To explore strategies for increasing nurses' civic engagement in health policy.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory review of existing literature was conducted.
• The review focused on identifying factors influencing nurses' political and civic engagement.

Main Results:

• Three primary factors emerged that promote civic engagement among nurses.
• These factors include integrating political education into nursing curricula.
• Fostering active psychological engagement and valuing collective influence through professional organizations are also key.

Conclusions:

• Integrating political education, encouraging personal interest, and promoting collective action are vital for increasing nurses' political participation.
• Addressing these modifiable factors can empower nurses to influence health policy more effectively.
• Enhanced civic engagement by nurses can lead to improved health outcomes and policies.