Self vs. Parent: Factors Influencing Likelihood of Hiring a Healthcare Advocate

Objective: To determine how the factors that may lead an individual to hire a healthcare advocate to aid him/herself in navigating the healthcare system when dealing with chronic or complex health issues differ from the factors that are considered when deciding to hire a healthcare advocate for one’s parent.Methods: 1,740 randomly selected participants completed a brief vignette-based questionnaire that indicated their likelihood of hiring an HCA for oneself or a parent. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test the effects of predisposing, enabling, and illness factors on the predicted likelihood.Results: Although neither model fit well statistically, both fit well descriptively. The direct path from predisposing to enabling factors and the indirect path from predisposing factors to illness level were significant in both models. Discussion: Understanding the factors that influence the decision to hire an HCA could help health providers target patients who are most likely to use HCA services, thereby reducing the burden on the healthcare system and improving quality of care

Demographic Predictors of the Perceived Likelihood of Hiring a Health Care Advocate

Background and Significance: The field of health care advocacy developed in response to the growing complexity of the health care system. A Health Care Advocate (HCA) is a trained professional who can help patients navigate the health care system. In the present study we investigated the effects of social support, number of people with whom individuals reside, gender, age, income, and race on the perceived likelihood of hiring an HCA for oneself. Method: Nine hundred and eighty-seven adults (Mage = 45.48 years, SD = 17.33 years, 55.4% female) were randomly selected and asked to complete a questionnaire. To explore the relationships of the perceived likelihood of hiring an HCA, path-analytic models using full-information maximum likelihood (FIML) estimation were tested, using Stata 12.1. Results: The model fit well statistically, ? 2 (5, N = 987) = 8.50, p = 0.131, and descriptively, CFI = 0.999, RMSEA = 0.027, pclose = 0.891, CD = 0.205. Conclusion: Overall, the model accounted for 4.30% of the variance in Hire HCA. More research is needed to better understand the role of an HCA in our complex and everchanging health care system

Effects of Age, Mental Health, and Comorbidity on the Perceived Likelihood of Hiring a Healthcare Advocate

Background and Purpose: The projected increase in chronically ill older adults may overburden the healthcare system and compromise the receipt of quality and coordinated health care services. Healthcare advocates (HCAs) may help to alleviate the burden associated with seeking and receiving appropriate health care. We examined whether having dementia or depression, along with hypertension and arthritis, or having no comorbid medical conditions, and being an older adult, affected the perceived likelihood of hiring an HCA to navigate the health care system. Method: Participants (N = 1,134), age 18 or older, read a vignette and imagined themselves as an older adult with either a mood or cognitive disorder, and comorbid medical conditions or as otherwise being physically healthy. They were then asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their perceived likelihood of hiring an HCA. Results: Participants who imagined themselves as having dementia reported a greater likelihood of hiring an HCA than participants who imagined themselves as having depression (p < .001). Conclusion: It is imperative that health care professionals attend to the growing and ongoing needs of older adults living with chronic conditions, and HCAs could play an important role in meeting those needs