Anatomy outreach: A conceptual model of shared purposes and processes

Anatomy outreach is a well-documented practice by many academic institutions, defined here as when anatomy-related services are provided to external communities. However, most of the current literature on this topic is largely descriptive, focusing on the ‘what’ of anatomy-related outreach, rather than the generalizable ‘why’ or ‘how’. There exists no shared conceptual model of what anatomy outreach tries to achieve from the perspective of ‘outreachers’, and how anatomists support these goals. Thus, this study aimed to explore the comprehension of anatomy outreach as a social phenomenon in the anatomy education community. This qualitative research used constructivist grounded theory to explore the perspectives of anatomists with experience facilitating anatomy outreach. A total of 18 participants completed semi-structured interviews. Analysis resulted in the construction of nine broad categories of themes relating to anatomy outreach: types of outreach, specific activities, goals of outreach, subject benefit (why anatomy?), enablers, challenges, appraisal, motivators/drivers, and community perspectives from the immediate anatomy community and wider field (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and health professions education (HPE)). These results were constructed into a conceptual model of anatomy outreach. The findings suggest that anatomists view the subject matter as a socially connecting experience that can engage a wide variety of individuals. The multimodal nature of anatomy, combined with teaching expertise, lends well to productive outreach. Most ‘outreachers’ do not have a strong understanding of the impact of their activities, however, and operate on a level of optimism that activities will support diversity, belonging, and health/anatomical literacy.