"I Don't Want to Read About It; I Want to Do It": Perspectives on

Purpose: Medical schools and healthcare institutions are increasingly committing to social accountability, the reorientation and prioritization of addressing local community health needs. Now, as part of this commitment, schools and institutions are called upon to demonstrate evidence of their progress towards social accountability to governments, accreditors, funders, and communities. This study aimed to understand what Methods: One-on-one semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with three diverse groups: academic, health services, and community interest holders to understand multiple perspectives on social accountability in health professional education. Respondents were asked how they perceive, actualize, and measure social accountability at different levels (societal, school, individual). Interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed. Results: Eighteen interviews were conducted, with eight academic representatives, six health care professionals, and four community leaders. The researchers identified three high-level themes in their analysis: the definition of social accountability, enacting and embodying social accountability, and measuring social accountability. There were distinct differences in terms of defining, executing, and evaluating Conclusion: Respondents emphasized that defining what social accountability means for a specific context is critical to advancing the movement. Acknowledging that there are similarities and differences between