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Behavioral medicine: what it is and what it does

Published on August 30, 2022   19 min

A selection of talks on Clinical Practice

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0:00
I'm Dr. Gina Touch Mercer, a clinical psychologist and the director of the behavioral and social sciences curriculum at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona. I'd like to talk to you today about what behavioral medicine is and what it can do, and how it relates to both personal and public health.
0:27
Today, I will introduce and define behavioral medicine and identify its six core domains. I will highlight the KSASBs, the requisite knowledge, procedures and skills, implicit attitudes and behaviors associated with this interdisciplinary field. I will briefly review the types of specialists who provide behavioral medicine and and the settings in which it is practiced. I will end by identifying the applications and outcomes of behavioral medicine.
1:06
To begin, behavioral medicine is an interdisciplinary field, including both research and clinical practice that relates human behavior and health outcomes. Behavioral medicine discovers, develops, and integrates the specific behavioral, psychological, social, cultural, and biomedical factors that cause us to be ill and to be well. There is a body of knowledge, evidence-based techniques, and technologies that distinguish this field, and I will introduce you to these in a series of brief talks. Behavioral medicine is grounded in a solid understanding of human development and human behavior. However, understanding these influences involves understanding the context of human behavior. The historical, social, and cultural norms, rules, roles, responsibilities, and relationships in which people engage. This includes relationships between patients and their healthcare providers, and their interactions with the healthcare systems and broad social systems in which they are embedded. Behavioral medicine utilizes this contextual and relational knowledge and applies evidence-based techniques to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate illness and injury. Behavioral medicine also serves to identify and mitigate risks to promote resilience, health, and well-being. Ultimately, it exists to prevent illness.
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Behavioral medicine: what it is and what it does

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