Health Humanities Scientific Interest Group

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) defines medical humanities as “the study of the intersection of medicine and humanistic disciplines such as philosophy, religion, literature, and the fine and performing arts.” Health humanities is an emerging field with broad disciplinary relevance increasingly recognized as a vital element of health research and care. Leading publications and organizations registering this emergence and relevance include: 

  • Journal of the American Medical Association, which has supported its long-running series A Piece of My Mind, featuring narrative medicine; 
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs which is incorporating veterans’ life histories into the medical record through its My Life, My Story program,
  • NLM’s traveling exhibitions which present inspiring stories about history, society, and medicine to connect viewers to trusted health information resources.

To enhance capacity in this emerging field, the NIH Health Humanities Scientific Interest Group (SIG) will bring together NIH intramural and extramural staff to explore the growing intersection of evidence-based scientific and health humanities research and explore opportunities for innovative research and training collaborations.

The NIH Health Humanities SIG meets quarterly to create connections and support mentorship in health humanities among NIH intramural staff and fellows, extramural staff, and the larger health humanities community. Meetings alternate between virtual (Teams) and in-person format. Meeting formats include seminars, discussion of books or films, and dialogue about topics in health humanities. One meeting per year is open to the public.

Mailing List

To join the Health Humanities Scientific Interest Group mailing list, please visit the Health Humanities Scientific Interest Group Listserv home page, then click the “Subscribe or Unsubscribe” link in the right sidebar.

Chairs

Advisor

Scientific Focus Areas

This page was last updated on Friday, October 25, 2024