Beyond Empathy to System Change: Four Poems on Health by Bertolt Brecht

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Health Humanities
• Medical Ethics

Background:

• Bertolt Brecht's "A Worker's Speech to a Doctor" is commonly used to educate health workers on socioeconomic determinants of health.
• Brecht's "Call to Arms" trilogy offers a more activist perspective, advocating for systemic change within the capitalist economic system.
• The "Call to Arms" trilogy includes "Call to a Sick Communist," "The Sick Communist's Answer to the Comrades," and "Call to the Doctors and Nurses."

Purpose of the Study:

• To contrast the tone and approach of "A Worker's Speech to a Doctor" with Brecht's "Call to Arms" trilogy.
• To analyze the effectiveness of these poems in health worker education regarding systemic health issues.
• To explore how these poems can foster a deeper understanding and encourage action against health-damaging economic systems.

Main Methods:

• Comparative textual analysis of selected poems by Bertolt Brecht.
• Examination of the poems' reception and application in health worker training.
• Assessment of the poems' potential to influence health workers' perspectives on social justice and systemic reform.

Main Results:

• "A Worker's Speech to a Doctor" elicits empathy but risks alienating health workers with its accusatory tone.
• The "Call to Arms" trilogy, despite potentially alienating terminology, invites health workers into broader social and political action.
• The "Call to Arms" poems can shift health worker discourse from mere empathy towards structural critique and systemic change.

Conclusions:

• While "A Worker's Speech to a Doctor" raises awareness, the "Call to Arms" trilogy offers a more potent framework for systemic change.
• Health worker education can benefit from incorporating the "Call to Arms" poems to promote a deeper understanding of capitalism's health impacts.
• These poems can inspire health workers to advocate for reforms or replacements of economic systems detrimental to public health.