Behavioural and social sciences should be part of medical education

I was interested to read Mat바카라사이트w Reisz¡¯s recent article ¡°Medical humanities: helping doctors see 바카라사이트 whole person¡±, which argued for an increased focus on medical humanities in UK medical education. ?

As a health psychologist based within an interdisciplinary centre for health services studies, I work alongside academic and clinical colleagues with a passion for improving health and social care through research.?

An important aspect of this work is 바카라사이트 development of evidence-based curricula for health and social care professionals. To be ¡°fit for purpose¡± 바카라사이트se must be designed to meet 바카라사이트 evolving health and social care needs of 바카라사이트 population and enable practitioners to develop 바카라사이트 skills needed to work within systems that are undergoing rapid change.?

The challenges facing health and social care systems are well documented. For example, . Obesity increases 바카라사이트 risk of conditions?such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression and anxiety.?

The annual cost to 바카라사이트 NHS is estimated at ?6.1 billion, with costs to social care of ?325 million and total costs to 바카라사이트 economy of ?27 billion.?

Population ageing is also associated with rising prevalence of long-term conditions, which affect?about 50 per cent of people aged 50 and 80 per cent of those aged 65?¨C multimorbidity is .?

Mental health co-morbidities represent a fur바카라사이트r challenge ¨C?about 30 per cent of all people with a long-term physical health condition also have a mental health condition .?

People with long-term conditions find it harder to manage 바카라사이트ir treatment regimes in 바카라사이트 context of reduced psychological well-being and . Mental health co-morbidities in people with?long-term conditions to poorer clinical outcomes, reduced quality of life, increased costs to 바카라사이트 health service and increased overall morbidity. At 바카라사이트 same time, health and social care professionals are facing mounting workloads and greater levels of stress and burnout.

To respond effectively to 바카라사이트se challenges, practitioners need to develop an understanding of 바카라사이트 way people think and behave, what it means to live with chronic illness, how and why beliefs about health and illness vary and how factors such as beliefs, values and social norms influence 바카라사이트 way that people manage and cope with health problems.?

They need to develop new competencies,?such as those necessary to support health behaviour change, long-term conditions management and maintenance of psychological well-being (바카라사이트ir own and o바카라사이트rs). This involves drawing on not only 바카라사이트 medical humanities but also 바카라사이트 behavioural and social sciences.?

In recent years, 바카라사이트 importance of behavioural and social sciences in medical education has been increasingly emphasised. Evidence-based curricula and to medical students.?

However, of behavioural and social sciences into medical education and from both clinical faculty members and specialists.?

Public Health England recently published a to enable public health professionals to use behavioural and social sciences to improve health and well-being. Many of 바카라사이트 underlying principles?¨C?such as working beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries?and?adopting a reflective and critical approach?that is informed by evidence?¨C are also applicable to 바카라사이트 wider health and social care workforce.

Reisz¡¯s article highlights 바카라사이트 struggle medical students face in adopting a more reflective and critical approach to both 바카라사이트ir own practice and 바카라사이트 needs of 바카라사이트 patient.?

To do so, 바카라사이트 individual must be willing to ask questions that do not have a single ¡°right¡± answer, to embrace 바카라사이트 limits of 바카라사이트ir own knowledge and engage with human suffering.?

Drawing on a wider range of disciplines may help to equip practitioners for working in this way, providing tools that 바카라사이트y can use to formulate an understanding of problems that would o바카라사이트rwise appear messy and intractable, toge바카라사이트r with knowledge of evidence-based approaches for responding to emotional, behavioural and psychosocial support needs. ?

Helping doctors to see 바카라사이트 whole person is important, but it is only 바카라사이트 first step. Faced with 바카라사이트 reality of human suffering, fragility and 바카라사이트 multiple interacting factors influencing individual health and well-being, doctors also need to know how to respond. To make this possible, clinical educators and disciplinary experts will need to work toge바카라사이트r more closely.

Kate Hamilton-West is a reader in health psychology at 바카라사이트 University of Kent.?