Advocacy in Neurology

Advocacy is a broad term that covers activities aimed at increasing attention, awareness, information, nursing, treatment, and support to improve the outcome of patients. These actions can be focused directly towards patients or indirectly via third parties. Although advocacy is present in all medical specialties, neurology in particular finds itself in need of strong advocacy tools as the diagnosis, treatment, long-term care and associated resource, and social issues have become increasingly complex. While some physicians implicitly or explicitly act as advocates, there is a lack of holistic research in order to clarify the meaning of advocacy along with concrete methods and strategies.

Advocacy in Neurology provides an integrated approach to the concept of advocacy in neurology. Structured in five sections, the book begins by explaining the term "advocacy" in general before elaborating on the areas of interest within neurology. The text goes on to offer concrete strategies and tools for clinicians to deploy advocacy in their daily work, and then discusses specific neurological diseases to point out and explain where advocacy is, or could be, beneficial. The book ends with an outlook, presentation of results, and an ending conclusion.

Advocacy in Neurology offers a practical perspective on advocacy activities in neurology, aiming to show when and why they are important for neurology.

Wolfgang Grisold, Neurologist, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, Vienna, Austria,Walter Struhal, Neurologist and Chair of the Department of Neurology, University Clinic Tulln, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Tulln, Austria,Thomas Grisold, Research and Teaching Associate, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria

Professor Wolfgang Grisold is a Neurologist at Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, Vienna, Austria. His main research interests are in general neurology , neuro-oncology, palliative care, and neuromuscular disease. He has experience in hospital/institutional neurology and also general neurology and neuromuscular disease in private/office settings.

Associate Professor Walter Struhal is a Neurologist and Chair of the Department of Neurology at University Clinic Tulln, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Tulln, Austria. His main research interests are in neurointensive care medicine, neurodegenerative diseases, and the autonomic nervous system, as well as medical postgraduate education.


Dr Thomas Grisold is a Research and Teaching Associate at Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria and he is studying a PhD in business and management. His main research interests are around the concept of organizational unlearning which refers to periods when organizations intentionally seek to get rid of established knowledge structures in order to create and implement new ones. Having a background in cognitive science, he aims to complement management research with interdisciplinary perspectives from neuroscience and philosophy.