Using theater to facilitate discussion of community health issues: Domestic violence

This paper will describe a project to test the efficacy of using theater and music to facilitate community discussion about domestic violence. In this pilot study, audience members were recruited from a Southern, research university and from the general community through fliers and word-of-mouth. This venue was held in a community, Performing Arts Theater, a main meeting point for the community surrounding the University. Audience participation in the play and subsequent debriefing of the Performance, as well as typed reviews were used to measure theater's ability to draw attention to the health problem of domestic violence. Data about the prevalence of domestic violence will be presented. Results from this work illustrate the audience's positive response to this innovative type of communication medium involving community health and the importance of empowering communities—the clients of public health nurses. Further studies are needed to clearly see theater's other possible contributions in fostering community discussion and collaboration regarding health issues.