A literary synthesis process was used to capture all of the conceptual dimensions of selfadvocacy
available in the literature according to Walker and Avant’s methodology. Articles
were reviewed both for a broad portrayal as well as a detailed description of self-advocacy.
All relevant articles were read once and then grouped into sub-categories based on patient
population (cancer vs. other) and whether or not self-advocacy was the primary focus of the
article. Articles that presented a more thorough description of self-advocacy and that