Medical Journal of The Islamic Republic of Iran (MJIRI)

Background: Behavioral, social, psychological and biological factors influence health and disease; and, to achieve professional
competency, physicians should be knowledgeable about their society and its inhabitants’ behavior. This knowledge will help physicians
to become competent in communication, professional behavior, self-awareness, ethical reasoning, and understanding cultural and
social differences. In this regard, this research is an attempt to explore perspectives of medical faculty members on necessity of integrating
Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSS) components into the medical curriculum.
Methods: In this qualitative study, data were collected by semi-structured interview and observation of participants who were recruited
from educational departments of faculty of medicine of Iran University of Medical Sciences. 12 faculty members were interviewed
individually and were ask about their experiences and perspectives on integration of BSS subject matters into medical curriculum.
Data were analyzed using content analysis.
Results: The six following themes were emerged from data analysis: “physician-patient interaction”, “medical culture”, “facilitating
behavior change”, “socio-cultural issues”, “mind-body medical experience” and “physician interaction with health care system”.
Conclusion: The results revealed that “physician-patient interaction” was the most prominent among the emerged themes. The participants
emphasized communication, professionalism, social accountability, and socio-cultural-psychological aspects.