The purpose of this study was to determine the level and type of public pol
icy involvement, as well as perceptions regarding public policy involvement
of nurse practitioners. A four-page survey was mailed to a sample of 600 c
ertified nurse practitioners, randomly selected from the American Academy o
f Nurse Practitioners' database. A three-stage mailing procedure yielded a
73% response rate. Most (59.6%) were involved in three or less public polic
y activities. The most frequently indicated activities included voting (87%
) and giving money to a campaign (57%). Lack of time was the most frequentl
y cited barrier, while improving the health of the public was cited most of
ten as a benefit. Overall, nurse practitioners felt they had limited knowle
dge on how to go about changing public policy, were somewhat interested in
public policy issues, believed the actions of public policymakers were very
important, and believed these actions influenced the public's health. The
majority (79%) had received some information/education on public policy cha
nge. Those most active in public policy had high public policy efficacy exp
ectations and perceived a high number of benefits to public policy involvem
ent.