Advocacy Experience and Awareness Among Otolaryngology Resident Physicians in the United States

Introduction: To assess the baseline level of advocacy experience among otolaryngology residents enrolled in US-based training programs and determine gaps in formal advocacy training.

Methods: A 20-question REDCap survey was developed and distributed to all otolaryngology residents currently enrolled in accredited programs. Responses were analyzed using a reproducible Python script. Advocacy participation was defined as attending an advocacy-related event and/or making financial contributions to a medical society. Respondents were separated into two groups based on post-graduate year (PGY) with PGY1-3 in Group 1 and PGY4-5 in Group 2. Categorical variables were compared with Fisher’s exact test, and effect sizes were reported as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: 88 unique respondents were included in the final analysis (Group 1: 53, Group 2: 35). Advocacy engagement increased with training level: Group 2 at 40% (14/35) and Group 1 at 17.0% (9/53) with OR of 3.26, 95% CI 1.22–8.73; p = 0.025. Advocacy event attendance was reported by 25.7% (9/35) of Group 1 compared to 9.4% (5/53) of Group 2 (OR 3.32, 95% CI 1.01–10.95; p = 0.071). Contributions were uncommon, only 11.4% (10/88) of total respondents reported an ENT PAC contribution history and 10.3% (9/88) to state/local medical societies. Only 18.2% (16/88) of total respondents were somewhat or very familiar with ENT PAC. Formal advocacy education was infrequent, 70.4% (62/88) reported never/rarely. Most respondents (85.2%, 75/88), agreed that residencies should provide advocacy education. Preferred educational formats included 59.1% (52/88) supporting both podcasts and residency didactics, with national meeting lectures (52.3% 46/88) and online videos (43.2%, 38/88) also favored.

Conclusions: Despite limited baseline experience, otolaryngology residents demonstrate strong interest in formal advocacy training. Future research should evaluate how standardized advocacy education can be incorporated into formal otolaryngology curriculums.