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The co-construction of medical humanitarianism: Analysis of personal, organizationally condoned narratives from an agency website

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  • Ager, Alastair
  • Iacovou, Melina

Abstract

Recent years have seen significant growth in both the size and profile of the humanitarian sector. However, little research has focused upon the constructions of humanitarian practice negotiated by agencies and their workers that serve to sustain engagement in the face personal challenges and critique of the humanitarian enterprise. This study used the public narrative of 129 website postings by humanitarian workers deployed with the health-focused international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to identify recurrent themes in personal, organizationally-condoned, public discourse regarding humanitarian practice. Data represented all eligible postings from a feature on the agency's UK website from May 2002 to April 2012. The text of postings was analysed with respect to emergent themes on an iterative basis. Comprehensive coding of material was achieved through a thematic structure that reflected the core domains of project details, the working environment, characteristics of beneficiaries and recurrent motivational sub-texts. Features of the co-construction of narratives include language serving to neutralize complex political contexts; the specification of barriers as substantive but surmountable; the dominance of the construct of national-international in understanding the operation of teams; intense personal identification with organization values; and the use of resilience as a framing of beneficiary adaptation and perseverance in conditions that – from an external perspective – warrant despair and withdrawal. Recurrent motivational sub-texts include ‘making a difference’ and contrasts with ‘past professional constraints’ and ‘ordinary life back home.’ The prominence of these sub-texts not only highlights key personal agendas but also suggests – notwithstanding policy initiatives regarding stronger contextual rooting and professionalism – continuing organizational emphasis on externality and volunteerism. Overall, postings illustrate a complex co-construction of medical humanitarianism that reflects a negotiated script of personal and organizational understandings adapted to evolving demands of humanitarian engagement.

Suggested Citation

  • Ager, Alastair & Iacovou, Melina, 2014. "The co-construction of medical humanitarianism: Analysis of personal, organizationally condoned narratives from an agency website," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 430-438.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:120:y:2014:i:c:p:430-438
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.053
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Calain, Philippe, 2013. "Ethics and images of suffering bodies in humanitarian medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 278-285.
    2. Fox, Renée C., 1995. "Medical humanitarianism and human rights: Reflections on Doctors Without Borders and Doctors of the World," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 41(12), pages 1607-1616, December.
    3. Gottlieb, Nora & Filc, Dani & Davidovitch, Nadav, 2012. "Medical humanitarianism, human rights and political advocacy: The case of the Israeli Open Clinic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(6), pages 839-845.
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    Cited by:

    1. Neely, Abigail H. & Ponshunmugam, Arunsrinivasan, 2019. "A qualitative approach to examining health care access in rural South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 214-221.

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