Community Advocacy in Pediatric Practice: Perspectives from the Field

Pediatrics is a specialty that is grounded in advocacy, possibly more than any other field of medicine. Infants, children, and adolescents depend on others to cover their basic needs including food, shelter, and education and rely on proxy voices to speak out on their behalf. In this article, we describe the importance of community advocacy in pediatrics, best practices for training pediatricians in community advocacy, and case studies to highlight trainee experiences and demonstrate how community advocacy and community-based participatory research can be incorporated in the career of a pediatrician.