Farmer Jane, Kilpatrick Sue
UHI Millennium Institute, Centre for Rural Health, Old Perth Road, Inverness IV2 3JH, United Kingdom.
Soc Sci Med. 2009 Dec;69(11):1651-8. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.09.003. Epub 2009 Sep 25.
Social entrepreneurs formally or informally generate community associations and networking that produces social outcomes. Social entrepreneurship is a relatively new and poorly understood concept. Policy promotes generating community activity, particularly in rural areas, for health and social benefits and 'community resilience'. Rural health professionals might be well placed to generate community activity due to their status and networks. This exploratory study, conducted in rural Tasmania and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland considered whether rural health professionals act as social entrepreneurs. We investigated activities generated and processes of production. Thirty-eight interviews were conducted with general practitioners, community nurses, primary healthcare managers and allied health professionals living and working rurally. Interviewees were self-selecting responders to an invitation for rural health professionals who were 'formally or informally generating community associations or networking that produced social outcomes'. We found that rural health professionals initiated many community activities with social outcomes, most related to health. Their identification of opportunities related to knowledge of health needs and examples of initiatives seen elsewhere. Health professionals described ready access to useful people and financial resources. In building activities, health professionals could simultaneously utilise skills and knowledge from professional, community member and personal dimensions. Outcomes included social and health benefits, personal 'buzz' and community capacity. Health professionals' actions could be described as social entrepreneurship: identifying opportunities, utilising resources and making 'deals'. They also align with community development. Health professionals use contextual knowledge to envisage and grow activities, indicating that, as social entrepreneurs, they do not explicitly choose a social mission, rather they act within their known world-view. Policymakers could consider ways to engage rural health professionals as social entrepreneurs, in helping to produce resilient communities.
社会企业家以正式或非正式的方式促成社区联合与网络构建，从而产生社会成果。社会创业是一个相对较新且鲜为人知的概念。政策推动开展社区活动，尤其是在农村地区，以实现健康和社会效益以及“社区复原力”。农村卫生专业人员因其地位和人脉，可能非常适合开展社区活动。这项在塔斯马尼亚农村以及苏格兰高地和岛屿进行的探索性研究，探讨了农村卫生专业人员是否充当社会企业家。我们调查了所开展的活动及产生过程。对生活和工作在农村的全科医生、社区护士、基层医疗保健管理人员以及专职医疗专业人员进行了38次访谈。受访者是对“正式或非正式地促成产生社会成果的社区联合或网络构建”的农村卫生专业人员邀请的自行选择的回应者。我们发现，农村卫生专业人员发起了许多产生社会成果的社区活动，其中大多数与健康相关。他们对机会的识别与对健康需求的了解以及在其他地方看到的举措实例有关。卫生专业人员表示能够轻松获取有用的人员和财政资源。在开展活动过程中，卫生专业人员可以同时运用来自专业、社区成员和个人层面的技能和知识。成果包括社会和健康效益、个人的“兴奋感”以及社区能力。卫生专业人员的行为可被描述为社会创业：识别机会、利用资源并达成“交易”。他们的行为也与社区发展相契合。卫生专业人员利用背景知识来设想和发展活动，这表明，作为社会企业家，他们并非明确选择一项社会使命，而是在其已知的世界观范围内行事。政策制定者可以考虑采取一些方法，让农村卫生专业人员作为社会企业家参与进来，以帮助打造具有复原力的社区。
