Advocacy and nursing: implications for women's health care

A recent government report indicates that women in Victoria are dissatisfied with the health care they receive. Advocacy is presented as a core concept which could be utilized by nurses to effect change in women's health care. Some models of advocacy in the nursing literature are examined and related to the aims of the women's health movement. The model of patients' rights advocate appears to have the greatest congruence with the aims of this movement and could be adopted by nurses to improve women's experience of the health care they receive.