Teaching and learning lifestyle medicine during COVID-19: how has living during a pandemic influenced students’ understanding and attitudes to self-care and population health? A qualitative analysis
Abstract Background In 2019 a new Lifestyle Medicine (LM) module was introduced to the undergraduate medical curriculum at Imperial College London. Lifestyle Medicine is an emergent discipline which aims to tackle the increasing burden of non-communicable disease. Previous work has suggested that st...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03590-6 |
| _version_ | 1818518400122486784 |
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| author | Christopher-James Harvey Edward J. Maile Ana Baptista Richard J. Pinder |
| author_facet | Christopher-James Harvey Edward J. Maile Ana Baptista Richard J. Pinder |
| author_sort | Christopher-James Harvey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background In 2019 a new Lifestyle Medicine (LM) module was introduced to the undergraduate medical curriculum at Imperial College London. Lifestyle Medicine is an emergent discipline which aims to tackle the increasing burden of non-communicable disease. Previous work has suggested that students value clinical teaching over traditional Public Health topics. Taking a constructivist view of learning, this paper assesses changes in medical students’ attitudes towards Public Health and LM in response to living through a pandemic. We then make suggestions as to how this lived experience might be useful in teaching LM, and discuss the interaction between teaching, behaviour, and experience with consideration of self-determination theories in learning. Methods First-year medical students were surveyed at the end of their first year of teaching and asked if living during the COVID-19 pandemic had changed the value they place on LM and if so, how. Thematic analysis was conducted on responses representing 71% (n = 216) of the year group. Results Four themes were defined in the data: acknowledging importance; impact on behaviour; health inequalities and the wider determinants; and promoting Public Health and prevention. These themes highlight the distinct levels through which the pandemic has had an impact: from personal behaviour to population health. Conclusions This is the first study to look at the impact of living through a pandemic on attitudes to LM. Our results suggest that the pandemic has led to increased reflection on health behaviours. The lived-experience of COVID-19 may facilitate a better understanding of health inequalities and their impact, alongside the opportunities presented by effective LM interventions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T01:10:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8b948b8490774e94916ad859c6999414 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T01:10:03Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-8b948b8490774e94916ad859c69994142022-12-22T01:26:05ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202022-07-012211810.1186/s12909-022-03590-6Teaching and learning lifestyle medicine during COVID-19: how has living during a pandemic influenced students’ understanding and attitudes to self-care and population health? A qualitative analysisChristopher-James Harvey0Edward J. Maile1Ana Baptista2Richard J. Pinder3Imperial College School of MedicineSchool of Public Health, Imperial College LondonImperial College School of MedicineImperial College School of MedicineAbstract Background In 2019 a new Lifestyle Medicine (LM) module was introduced to the undergraduate medical curriculum at Imperial College London. Lifestyle Medicine is an emergent discipline which aims to tackle the increasing burden of non-communicable disease. Previous work has suggested that students value clinical teaching over traditional Public Health topics. Taking a constructivist view of learning, this paper assesses changes in medical students’ attitudes towards Public Health and LM in response to living through a pandemic. We then make suggestions as to how this lived experience might be useful in teaching LM, and discuss the interaction between teaching, behaviour, and experience with consideration of self-determination theories in learning. Methods First-year medical students were surveyed at the end of their first year of teaching and asked if living during the COVID-19 pandemic had changed the value they place on LM and if so, how. Thematic analysis was conducted on responses representing 71% (n = 216) of the year group. Results Four themes were defined in the data: acknowledging importance; impact on behaviour; health inequalities and the wider determinants; and promoting Public Health and prevention. These themes highlight the distinct levels through which the pandemic has had an impact: from personal behaviour to population health. Conclusions This is the first study to look at the impact of living through a pandemic on attitudes to LM. Our results suggest that the pandemic has led to increased reflection on health behaviours. The lived-experience of COVID-19 may facilitate a better understanding of health inequalities and their impact, alongside the opportunities presented by effective LM interventions.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03590-6Lifestyle MedicinePublic HealthAttitudesSelf-careConstructivismHealth Behaviours |
| spellingShingle | Christopher-James Harvey Edward J. Maile Ana Baptista Richard J. Pinder Teaching and learning lifestyle medicine during COVID-19: how has living during a pandemic influenced students’ understanding and attitudes to self-care and population health? A qualitative analysis BMC Medical Education Lifestyle Medicine Public Health Attitudes Self-care Constructivism Health Behaviours |
| title | Teaching and learning lifestyle medicine during COVID-19: how has living during a pandemic influenced students’ understanding and attitudes to self-care and population health? A qualitative analysis |
| title_full | Teaching and learning lifestyle medicine during COVID-19: how has living during a pandemic influenced students’ understanding and attitudes to self-care and population health? A qualitative analysis |
| title_fullStr | Teaching and learning lifestyle medicine during COVID-19: how has living during a pandemic influenced students’ understanding and attitudes to self-care and population health? A qualitative analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Teaching and learning lifestyle medicine during COVID-19: how has living during a pandemic influenced students’ understanding and attitudes to self-care and population health? A qualitative analysis |
| title_short | Teaching and learning lifestyle medicine during COVID-19: how has living during a pandemic influenced students’ understanding and attitudes to self-care and population health? A qualitative analysis |
| title_sort | teaching and learning lifestyle medicine during covid 19 how has living during a pandemic influenced students understanding and attitudes to self care and population health a qualitative analysis |
| topic | Lifestyle Medicine Public Health Attitudes Self-care Constructivism Health Behaviours |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03590-6 |
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