Social and behavioral sciences in public health is the branch of public health that draws on sociocultural and behavioral factors to understand how healthy environments are sustained among different populations. It examines how community and social factors shape public health solutions and policy, and is recognized by schools and programs of public health as one of the core areas of study alongside biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, and health policy and management. The field treats individual health behavior as inseparable from its social context, considering the actions of individuals, groups, and organizations together with the policies, environments, and social conditions that shape them.
Facts
Central QuestionSourced to the subject's own accountWhat does integrating knowledge from the biological, behavioral, psychological and social sciences reveal about health and illness that a single discipline's own account would miss. 1 Key DebateSourced to the subject's own accountBehavioral medicine and health psychology name overlapping but distinct territory, and the two terms are often used for each other despite that difference, which the field itself flags as a mistake worth correcting. 1 Sources
1. Wikipedia: Behavioral Medicine
WikipediaLead section, first sentence
Behavioral medicine is concerned with the integration of knowledge in the biological, behavioral, psychological, and social sciences relevant to health and illness.
Lead section, first paragraph
The term is often used interchangeably, but incorrectly, with health psychology.
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