Evoking Brecht's A Worker's Speech to a Doctor: developing clinical skills, deepening understanding and promoting action on living and working conditions, or mobilisation for system reform or transformation?

Abstract

Bertolt Brecht's 1938 poem 'A Worker's Speech to a Doctor' has been used by health educators to direct attention to the health-threatening effects of adverse living and working conditions. However, to date there has not been a systematic analysis of these evocations and their goals (eg, develop clinical skills through promotion of empathy, encourage action to improve living and working conditions, and/or calls for broad societal mobilisation for systemic reform or even replacement). Of particular concern and relevance is the context in which this poem is mentioned, how it was applied, and whether it is presented in fragments or its entirety, thereby leaving intact Brecht's critique of the capitalist economic system and its role in creating illness as well as the Doctor's complicity in this same system. This investigation revealed that while most of the 56 instances found in books, book chapters, journal articles, presentations, and blogs did draw attention to how living and working conditions shape health and in many cases their public policy antecedents, most did not include the entire poem, leaving out Brecht's critique and blunting his message. We suggest 'A Worker's Speech' and other Brecht's poems as a rich source for reflection, discussion, and action to promote health by health and social services workers, researchers, community activists, and the public.