Palestine polytechnic University

Faculty of Medicine

Contributions of behavioral science in medicine

Yazeed Saleem abdulkareem

190145
 Behavioral science in medicine focuses primarily on the overt behavior of the patient and upon
modifying behavior as a means of preventing or treating disease. Behavioral science contribute to
medical health as the following:

• behavioral treatment approaches as biofeedback and relaxation techniques are effective in the actual
direct treatment of such physical disorders as headache, chronic pain, and insomnia(all disorders that
had heretofore proven unusually resistant to the traditional pharmaco-logic approaches that students
learn in medical school). Their use has also become increasingly widespread in a variety of biomedical
treatment settings ranging from primary care, to neurology group practices, to oncology services in
tertiary medical centers.(1)

• Studying how patients deal with chronic disease is an important component of developing effective
medical and behavioral treatments. Hostility, depression, and stress play major roles in the progression
of many chronic diseases. Patients who have been diagnosed with chronic diseases react differently to
sudden requirements to change lifelong behaviors. Some may succeed in changing their behaviors on
their own; many others will be only partially successful or even fail completely.(2)
behaviours esablised during adolescence contribute to chronic disease :
• tobacco use (smoking, chewing);
• dietary behaviors (food selection, portion-size selection, attitudes toward foods and eating);
• physical activity (type, intensity, duration, frequency);
• alcohol and other drug use;
• sexual behaviors (leading to acquiring sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies);
and
• behaviors that may result in violence and unintentional injuries (use of weapons, motor
vehicles).(2)
.

• Certain behaviors or lifestyles are "risk factors" for serious medical conditions including cancer and
coronary artery disease. The relative failure of public education in achieving the anticipated dramatic
changes in such risk factor behaviors as cigarette smoking and nonadherence to antihypertensive
regimens has convinced some leaders in clinical medicine that behavior modification approaches that
 have proved effective in changing behaviors associated with mental disorders might also prove useful
in attempts to modifY behaviors that increase risk of major physical illness.medical factor of coronary
heart disease (CHD) appear to account for no more than 50% of the variance in CHD rates in any
population studied thus far. Thus additional risk factors must exist, and the search for these has led
naturally to a consideration of the role of behavioral factors as potential risk factors for CHD. There is
extensive evidence that stressful life events may be playing a role in the precipitation of acute clinical
events related to CHD, and the role of the social milieu-particularly the availability of social support-
also appears of key importance in modulating the impact of stressful life events. Most impressive of all
has been the recent emergence of a specific behavior pattern, termed the type A (coronary-prone)
behavior pattern, as an established risk factor for CHD of equal magnitude to the traditional physical
risk factors (choles-terol, high blood pressure, and cigarette smoking).(1)

• The health belief mode theory: Over the last 70 years, scientists have established and reframed a
number of theories to explain a variety of human behavior patterns in a variety of situations and
circumstances. Some of these theories can be combined and applied to daily clinical practice.
The health belief model is one of the best-known health related behavioral theories. The health belief
model postulates that increased patient engagement in a given behavior (e.g., exercising) results from
the interaction between their personal beliefs about whether or not they are at risk for a given disease
(e.g., increased risk of cardiovascular disease), their perception of exercise-related benefits (e.g., will
exercise help me lose/maintain body weight?) and the barriers to taking action (e.g., spouse support,
incorporation of exercise into daily routine) to decrease the chances of developing a serious health
condition such as cardiovascular disease. Incorporating the health belief model into clinical practice
requires effective communication with patients, so that usable information can be provided. However,
identification of potential barriers and discussion of strategies to overcome them, along with the
benefits of preventive actions, is also important.(3)
 references
1- Hine, F. R., Carson, R. C., Maddox, G. L., Thompson, R. J., & Williams, R. B. (2012). Introduction to
behavioral science in medicine. Springer Science & Business Media.
2- National Institutes of Health (US); Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. NIH Curriculum
Supplement Series [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health (US); 2007. Available
from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20364/
3- https://doi.org/10.1590/S1679-45082016ED3647