Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 8.08 Health, Mental Health, Poverty, and Activism
Presentation #1 Title
"I came to help:" Refelctions of Early, Mid, and Late Career Rural Appalachian Healthcare Providers
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Individuals enter the field of health care for a variety of reasons but mainly to help. Once in the field, the place in which they choose to practice can mold and shape their ideas about healthcare and about the communities that they serve. As they spend time in the field, their motivations and perspectives change and, in turn, alter their approach to the communities they serve. Rural Appalachian communities which often are home to people of poverty and isolation can present unique challenges to the skills of healthcare providers. Such challenges may cause fatigue and stress in helpers who may counter with protective strategies such as withdrawal from the community and the creation of psychological separation between themselves and their communities. The present study seeks to examine the beliefs and attitudes that early, mid, and late career healthcare providers in rural Appalachia express about the services they provide and the challenges they encounter in the communities they serve. A qualitative methodology is used to allow providers to talk, in their own words, about their motivations for their work and the manner in which their experiences have provided both impetus and impediment to their ability to deliver services in their communities.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Thomas D. Linz is an associate professor of psychology at Marshall University. He has been working in the mental health field for over 20 years.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Marianna Linz is a professor of .psychology at Marshall University. She is the director of the Psy.D. program.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Bethany Wellman is a graduate student in the Psy.D. program in the Department of Psychology at Marshall University. She has specific interests in working with the homeless and other underserved groups.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Kellee Boster is a graduate student in the Psy.D. program in the Department of Psychology at Marshall University. She also works in the office of Student Health.
"I came to help:" Refelctions of Early, Mid, and Late Career Rural Appalachian Healthcare Providers
Harris Hall 236
Individuals enter the field of health care for a variety of reasons but mainly to help. Once in the field, the place in which they choose to practice can mold and shape their ideas about healthcare and about the communities that they serve. As they spend time in the field, their motivations and perspectives change and, in turn, alter their approach to the communities they serve. Rural Appalachian communities which often are home to people of poverty and isolation can present unique challenges to the skills of healthcare providers. Such challenges may cause fatigue and stress in helpers who may counter with protective strategies such as withdrawal from the community and the creation of psychological separation between themselves and their communities. The present study seeks to examine the beliefs and attitudes that early, mid, and late career healthcare providers in rural Appalachia express about the services they provide and the challenges they encounter in the communities they serve. A qualitative methodology is used to allow providers to talk, in their own words, about their motivations for their work and the manner in which their experiences have provided both impetus and impediment to their ability to deliver services in their communities.
