In service of the society? Medical associations as agents of social change—Implication for health policy and education in Israel

Abstract

This study aims to explore what medical associations in Israel do to promote public health, what values underpin their activities, and how their actions can be interpreted. For this purpose, an analysis of both individual and organizational levels was applied in an effort to yield a more nu-anced understanding of the relationship between society and the medical profession. In-depth in-terviews with senior physicians were conducted, combined with a review of policy and public initiatives of medical associations between 2008 and 2018. The findings of this study reveal that medical associations engage in a range of social and policy initiatives designed to promote public health, but, at the same time, they tend to construct socially related health issues as medical problems in a manner that fits their sectorial agendas. This may reflect organized medicine’s efforts to extend its dominance over society through the application of the biomedical model to social issues. It is nec-essary to integrate biosocial training with medical education to ensure that future physicians are equipped with the skills needed to implement social medicine.