Cultural Broker or Collaborator?: Lessons Learned from Breast Cancer Survivor Groups in Eastern North Carolina

Medical anthropologists often act as cultural brokers for client groups by representing and explaining their interests to professionals in order to negotiate better access to care, improvements in screening and treatment services, and greater availability of educational programs. In these contexts, the anthropologist is in a position of power relative to clients, who are assumed to be unable to represent themselves as effectively as the advocate can. Attempts to broker in the reverse occur much less frequently. Yet the need for anthropologists to explain the assumptions and priorities of policymakers and funding agencies to clients is equally important, and doing so can shift the frames of reference for both parties, fostering the possibility for true collaboration in community health initiatives.