By Kate Deverell.
Routledge
ISBN 0 415 23321 6
£17.99   

Professionalism and boundaries will be familiar issues to those working in health and social care. Kate Deverell presents an in-depth fieldwork study of outreach workers involved in HIV prevention with gay and bisexual men, and explores the difficult area where sexuality interacts with professional identities.

The first chapter sets out the theoretical basis of the study in a review of the sociological debates about sex, work and professionalism. This is followed by a reflexive examination of the methodology and a look at the development of HIV prevention initiatives in the UK.

The original findings of the study are weaved into the next four chapters, which explore why boundaries are important and how they are constructed. It examines the tensions that exist when the domains of work and personal life are not easily separated, and highlights how professionalism can be seen as an identity rather than a set of job attributes. The concluding chapter examines the relevance of the research findings to other occupations and builds on wider theoretical debates about professionalism.

This book will be of particular relevance to those involved in HIV services and to those with an interest in professional boundaries.

Gareth Owen is an HIV social worker, Hammersmith and Fulham Council.