Physicians as violence prevention activists--a qualitative study.
Few studies have examined the challenges facing physician activists: health care providers who engage in unpaid, non-clinical work to effect change in social issues pertaining to public health. We conducted focus groups with 19 health care providers active in violence prevention; data were analyzed using qualitative methods. Five themes emerged: (1) personal experience had generated participants' activism; (2) physicians believed they were uniquely qualified as violence prevention activists; (3) violence prevention inside the health care setting often overshadowed outside activism; (4) they feared being overwhelmed by demands of activism; and (5) they felt isolated and valued networking, especially locally, to relieve isolation. Findings illustrate the complex demands of violence prevention work on today's busy physicians.
Gerbert
Barbara
B
Division of Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, 94117, USA. gerbert@itsa.ucsf.edu
Herzig
Karen
K
Marecek
Leigh
L
Salber
Patricia
P
D003254:Consumer Advocacy; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D010819:Physician's Role; D010820:Physicians; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*