Workshop 06

Why do some of our patients never get better on the evidence-based treatments? Disease cannot be solely blamed on biology manifested in genetics or pathogens, it has roots which go deep within the context of the illness and are determined and/or affected by social factors. Social medicine (SM) reemerged with the WHO’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health in 2007. By acknowledging the social determinants of health (SDH), physicians will have a better understanding of the root causes of illness in order to address patient’s complaints and advocate for more comprehensive health policies and for health in all policies.

1.Outline the history and progression of SM

2.Familiarize participants with the milestone agreements

3.Discuss a case from a SM perspective and elicit the SDH

This interactive workshop divides participants into groups.  A brief introduction about SM and its history will be given. Participants will be asked to reflect on Virchow’s report, discuss the Alma Ata Declaration and some of the items of the Commission on SDH. Then we move to discussing patients’ cases from a social medicine perspective: a YouTube video will be shown to discuss the relationship between neighborhood and health and a clip about MDR-TB to illustrate the concept.We will finish with questions and a wrap up.

SDH are just as important as biology in determining who gets ill and who enjoys good health. Physicians who understand these determinants will be able to manage their patients better medically and through advocating for a more comprehensive approach to health