Factors That Influence the Likelihood of Hiring a Health Care Advocate for a Chronically Ill Child

IntroductionIn response to the increasing complexity of the health care system, the field of health care advocacy has emerged. However, little is known about variables that may influence a person's likelihood of hiring a health care advocate (HCA) for their chronically ill child.MethodsSeverity (high or low) and probability of mortality (high or low) of a child's chronic illness and the child's age (1, 7, or 13 years) were manipulated using vignettes. The dependent variable was a composite score of the eight items used to measure the participants' likelihood of hiring an HCA.ResultsParticipants (N = 1052) were more likely to hire an HCA for a child who was 1 year old than for a child who was 13 years old. Participants were more likely to hire an HCA for a child whose chronic illness was low rather than high in severity and whose chronic illness was high rather than low in probability of mortality.DiscussionUse of an HCA may increase patient satisfaction, decrease medical errors, and enhance pediatric health outcomes.