Table 1.

Top Ten Tips for Evidence-Based Advocacy

Tip 1: The palliative specialist's voice is critical—use the skills you already have.

Tip 2: Stand together—use a consensus-based definition of “palliative care” that emphasizes integration to engage diverse stakeholders and consistently represent the field.

Tip 3: Be ready to explain the value of PC.

Tip 4: Advocate for PC as a component of the right to health.

Tip 5: Reference international law and multilateral conventions, resolutions, and political declarations that call for universal access to PC.

Tip 6: Quantify the scope of unmet needs and identify public policy gaps.

Tip 7: Actively participate in organizations that advocate for PC to maximize impact and reduce duplication.

Tip 8: Embed advocacy into different aspects of training and professional development to prepare the primary health care and palliative workforces.

Tip 9: Know the data demonstrating that publicly provided PC can address social injustice and remedy health inequities.

Tip 10: Expand your circle of influence: make new friends by advocating for PC at clinical and interprofessional forums outside your direct circle of concern.

PC, palliative care.