Department of Internal Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Can Med Educ J. 2023 Mar 21;14(1):90-94. doi: 10.36834/cmej.74887. eCollection 2023 Mar.
Health advocacy is a core competency for physicians, which can be developed through community-based service-learning (CBSL). This exploratory study investigated the experiences of community partner organizations (CPOs) participating in CBSL in the context of health advocacy.
A qualitative study was conducted. Nine CPOs at a medical school participated in interviews on topics pertaining to CBSL and health advocacy. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded. Major themes were identified.
CPOs perceived a positive impact from CBSL through student activities and connecting with the medical community. There was no unifying definition of health advocacy. Advocacy activities varied depending on the individual's role (i.e., CPO, physician, and student), which encompassed providing patient care or services, raising awareness of healthcare issues, and influencing policy changes. CPOs had different perceptions of their role in CBSL from facilitating service-learning opportunities to teaching students in CBSL, while a few desired to be involved in curriculum development.
This study provides further insight into health advocacy from the lens of CPOs, which may inform changes to health advocacy training and the CanMEDS Health Advocate Role to better align with the values of community organizations. Engaging CPOs in the broader medical education system may improve health advocacy training and ensure a positive bidirectional impact.
健康倡导是医生的核心能力，可以通过社区服务学习（CBSL）来发展。本探索性研究调查了参与健康倡导背景下 CBSL 的社区合作伙伴组织（CPO）的经验。
进行了一项定性研究。医学院的 9 个 CPO 参与了与 CBSL 和健康倡导相关主题的访谈。访谈进行了录音、转录和编码。确定了主要主题。
CPO 通过学生活动和与医疗社区的联系，从 CBSL 中获得了积极的影响。健康倡导没有统一的定义。倡导活动因个人角色（即 CPO、医生和学生）而异，包括提供患者护理或服务、提高对医疗保健问题的认识以及影响政策变化。CPO 对他们在 CBSL 中的角色有不同的看法，从促进服务学习机会到在 CBSL 中教授学生，而少数人希望参与课程开发。
这项研究从 CPO 的角度进一步深入了解了健康倡导，这可能会影响健康倡导培训和 CanMEDS 健康倡导角色的变化，以更好地符合社区组织的价值观。让 CPO 参与更广泛的医学教育系统可能会改善健康倡导培训，并确保产生积极的双向影响。
