In order to develop more human-oriented physicians and to understand more fully the human dimension of disease, the emerging fields of medical and health humanities are increasingly being integrated into medical education internationally. In addition, artists, philosophers, writers and other humanists continue to contemplate and draw inspiration from the human body and the experience of illness. These interdisciplinary efforts attempt to address the sociological, economic, philosophical and ethical issues that doctors, patients, families and society at large must face which go beyond the more technical aspects of medicine such as diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutics. A growing evidence base indicates that humanistic approaches to healthcare improve patient outcomes, contribute to better compliance and better provider-patient relations, and reduce medical error and liability. In addition, Expressive Arts Therapies, such as Music, Art, Narrative, and Play Therapies, use the arts themselves as a healing practice.

According to Rabie E. Abdel-Halim and Khaled M. AlKattan of Alfaisal and King Saud Universities in Riyadh, “it is very crucial to strike a harmonious balance between the two major branches of knowledge; namely, natural sciences and technology in one hand and social sciences and humanities in the other. The importance of striking a harmonious balance is increasingly felt to match with the growing detrimental effects of the already well-established and strong-rooted materialism. We have to be able to produce not only [medical] graduates with great mental and intellectual capability but also with strong emotional and spiritual stability.”

The conference will bring together researchers, educators, students and practitioners to help define and share best practices in the medical and health humanities globally. Currently many of the medical humanities curricula and initiatives are based on western paradigms, and more discussions are needed to imagine what human-centered health systems might look like in other regions and cultures of the world.

Qualitative and quantitative research, case studies, country reports, full sessions, thought papers, and theoretical papers are welcome. Creative submissions (for example, readings of narrative medicine fiction or poetry) will also be considered. The conference language is English. Posters will be displayed on the website and full details on poster preparation will be posted shortly. All abstracts will be blind peer reviewed and selected papers will be invited to a peer-reviewed edited volume from SpringerNature.

THIS CONFERENCE IS OFFERED AS PART OF QATAR FOUNDATION'S MULTIVERSITY INITIATIVE.

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2018 Conference Abstracts

2022 Conference Abstracts

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