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Teaching and research should reflect growing influence of design, technology and policy, says Stefano Capolongo
The World Health Organization’s constitution, adopted in 1946, defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, rather than as merely the absence of disease.
The way medicine is practised has been slow to adopt this approach. But increasingly, that is changing. The concept of health is evolving, shaped by trends such as increased urbanisation as well as design and technological evolution. There is a rising awareness of the social and environmental determinants of health, including population ageing, management of chronic diseases and the challenges posed by climate change.
Innovative and holistic approaches with names such as One Health, Global Health, Universal Health and Health in All Policies, along with the introduction of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, are revolutionising the role of education in the healthcare sector.
While universities’ research is contributing to this changing understanding, in some areas they have been slow to adapt. Rapidly evolving needs and approaches in healthcare demand new teaching and research methods.
These efforts must centre on enhanced interdisciplinarity. Combining medicine with other disciplines, from biomedical engineering, architecture and construction engineering to computer science, economics and environmental sciences, is crucial to equipping healthcare professionals with the skills to address the complex problems of our time.
Five actions, in particular, should be taken to best prepare future healthcare professionals.
1. Blur boundaries
Healthcare infrastructures are a pivotal part of the new notion of health. This means that involving medical professionals in developing the design strategies for hospitals can make healthcare facilities better workplaces, capable of responding to patients’ needs and improving staff retention.
Academic research is increasingly stressing the need to link design and health. Correspondingly, design and technology are set to become fundamental elements in the future of healthcare education. To help students succeed in a rapidly changing world, universities should accelerate the integration of design and technology across a variety of disciplines and programmes.
This change is already underway in the shape of courses in healthcare design. These combine training in medicine and nursing with that in architecture and engineering. Such courses support a range of emerging professions, such as hospital planner, physician engineer, architectural doctor, nurse architect and nurse engineer.
Several academic institutions already offer BSc, MSc and PhD programmes in topics such as healthcare design and environmental and building hygiene. Many professional postgraduate courses are available, too. It is vital that universities expand their offering in these areas, blurring the boundaries between traditional educational programmes.
2. Teach policy
Universities should equip students with an understanding of how health policies are developed, implemented and evaluated. Students should grasp how policy choices and implementation affect health outcomes, the role of governments and non-governmental organisations in public health and the strategies for addressing health disparities globally.
As part of this, universities should also create courses on the effect of climate change on health, including the policies and mitigation strategies that are being implemented worldwide.
3. Harness technology
Technology is exerting a profound impact on healthcare. Universities need to teach students how to leverage artificial intelligence for diagnosis, treatment and patient management while exploring its ethical and legal implications.
Universities should also promote the use of big data in healthcare, showing how the management and analysis of large datasets can be used to monitor and improve patients’ outcomes and optimise processes.
Last but not least in this area, universities should offer courses on the telemedicine and digital health approaches that are essential for improving access to care and management of chronic diseases.
4. Embrace collaboration
Partnerships between government bodies, universities and industry can tap into the resources and expertise needed to develop and implement new courses. By collaborating with medtech companies, for instance, universities can provide students with practical learning opportunities, internships and workshops.
Policymakers and universities can also establish joint research partnerships to bridge academia and industry. Working together on large-scale projects, universities and industry can devise innovative solutions to healthcare challenges and speed up the development of new technologies.
5. Teach soft skills
Soft skills are integral to patient care. Universities should do more to teach them, enabling students to foster skills such as communication, empathy, leadership, teamwork and cultural competence. Existing courses should incorporate teaching aimed at enhancing students’ problem-solving and teamwork skills. A prime example is an approach called problem-based learning, which uses real-world problems as the starting point.
There are many more steps that universities can take, but the five I have outlined would be a good starting point in ensuring that universities take a holistic approach to health, in line with modern trends and technologies.
Stefano Capolongo is a professor of hospital design and urban health at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy.