Proposal for the insertion of health promotion in the academic curriculum of medical schools in Nicaraguan universities

Abstract

Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and aging are the main health challenges to be faced and have motivated changes in the way of responding to them. The curative model reflects fissures in the face of the advent of the new health context. The need for a different or complementary model, which includes health as a driving force, has been raised. The present literature review aims to demonstrate that Health Promotion (HP) is the strategy to achieve health and wellbeing in society, a fundamental and inherent mission for all medical school graduates. The bibliographic review was carried out in search engines such as Google Scholar, Pubmed and publications of the World Health Organization (WHO). We reviewed articles that had an approach of data of interest such as teaching and related entities that have had experience with health promotion. The inclusion criteria were: articles in Spanish or English that included a review and information on the following topics: origin of the term health promotion, its principles, the role of the health system, the recommendations of the main international organizations on health promotion and the expected health impact of its implementation. The results of this documentary review reflect that health promotion is the complement to the curative model, however, its development is considered as a medical and social practice not up to the figure of the specialist physician in a hospital and continues with the curative practice and a university teaching based on pathogenesis and with a scarce and superficial content on health. Faced with these challenges, the medical schools of the universities of medical sciences should change their academic approach, where health is the axis of the academic curriculum and at the same time influence public policies so that health promotion is a transversal subject and a competence of the graduated physician.