Health Humanities And Equity

About Health Humanities:

The Health Humanities is an interdisciplinary field that bridges the gap between the arts, humanities, social sciences, and biomedical sciences, to foster a more compassionate, holistic approach to patient care. By integrating insights from literature, philosophy, ethics, and history, the discipline enhances our understanding of the social, cultural, and emotional dimensions of health, illness, and healing. By studying health and illness in their cultural, historical, and political contexts, students develop tools used to identify and address issues of health equity, inclusion, and justice.

Why study Health Humanities And Equity at Wittenberg University?

  • “Empathetic Practice”: Studies show that students in health humanities programs have a higher tendency to relate to others and develop communication and interpersonal skills.elicit. 1
  • “Essential for the Future”: According to recent guidelines from the Association of American Medical Colleges, “The integration of the arts and humanities into medicine and medical education may be essential” to meet the needs of a 21st century world.” 2
  • “More Competitive”: In comparison with premedical science students, premedical humanities students demonstrate “equal or superior academic and clinical performance during medical school and residency.” 3
  • “Applied Humanities”: The Health Humanities represent a growing field where humanistic approaches to problem solving and inquiry are actively applied in health-related industries.
The Fine Art of Health Care program unites students from a variety of disciplines in honing their skills of observation, collaboration, and ultimately of appreciation for each other’s views and expertise, to make all participants better patient caregivers.
Dr. Mikkael Sekeres, Professor of Medicine Chief, Division of Hematology Leukemia Section, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

1 Hall JN, Woods N, Hanson MD. Is social sciences and humanities (SSH) premedical education marginalized in the medical school admission process? A review and contextualization of the literature. Acad Med. 2014; 89 (7): 1075-1086.
2 Howley L, Gaufberg E, King B. The Fundamental Role of the Arts and Humanities in Medical Education. Washington, DC: AAMC; 2020. https://www.aamc.org/about-us/mission-areas/medical-education/frahme
3 Stratton TD, Elam CL, McGrath MG. A liberal arts education as preparation for medical school: how is it valued? How do graduates perform? Acad Med. 2003; 78(10 suppl): S59-S61.

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