The Repair Shop: A Performable Case Study

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to create a Performable Case Study (PCS) and an accompanying teaching guide regarding bioethical issues linked to the social determinants of health. This case study is written in a dialogic form and, as is the primary purpose of a PCS, is intended to stimulate attention to this area of bioethics in a format that reflects the field’s focus on the humanities.This work emphasizes the dramatic differences in average life expectancy among people who live in communities that are only a few miles apart. This is accomplished by exploring the lives of four fictional individuals, stressing social contributions to these life expectancy differences. The main plot of this PCS utilizes the common metaphor of the subway, recently discussed by Dr. Donald Berwick in his presentation and paper both entitled “The Moral Determinants of Health” (Berwick, 2020, 2021). While the work is fictional, the decrease in lifespan between the most affluent neighborhood and the most impoverished neighborhoods is based on fact and can be found in many large cities in the United States. The introduction explores the history of the Performable Case Study as an educational device. Chapter 1 is the PCS itself. Chapter 2 is a teaching guide that accompanies the PCS, and Chapter 3 contains an overview of the inspiration for the work and the thinking behind the piece.