| Advanced practice nurses (APRNs) have a unique understanding of health care needs because of their daily work serving patients and families. This level of understanding is crucial to finding workable solutions for health care reform; yet, nurse involvement and influence in policymaking seems low. Political participation beliefs and behaviors among APRNs are not well known and predictors of their participation level lack quantitative investigation. This correlational study sought to describe the political participation level among APRNs and determine what factors best predict their level of involvement in professional and policy processes. Participants were 170 Louisiana APRNs who submitted responses to an online survey framed by the civic voluntarism model to assess beliefs and behaviors toward political participation in government, community, and professional life. Results indicated that APRNs are significantly politically active (p < .001); significant predictors of participation were increased age (beta = .153, p < .05), resources (beta = .253, p < .01), and engagement (beta = .392, p < .001). Variables from the civic voluntarism model moderately predicted participation accounting for nearly 40% (R2 adjusted = .394) of participation level variability. Thus, APRN educators, nurse leaders, and policy makers seeking to increase political participation should solicit input of older APRNs, who are more politically active and have greater resources and more engagement with public policymaking. Additionally, nurse organizations might benefit by professional management assessments to determine why APRNs who are highly engaged with professional matters, choose to direct their political participation efforts to non-nurse organizations. |
