The culture of the workplace plays an essential role in the successful adoption of the programming of lifestyle in health systems, according to a new study published in Open BMJ.
Researchers have developed case studies on health systems with lifestyle medicine programs that had a diversity of size, location, paying model and patient population. More than 40 people from these health systems, including administrative managers, doctors and other team members involved in lifestyle medical programs, participated in data collection.
The study revealed that synergistic and support practices, such as the provision of resources to support the training of collaborative groups (professional development groups, walking groups, etc.), visually advertising living in life and creating a support environment by offering healthy meal options based on plants in cafeterias have facilitated the implementation of the programming of lifestyle.
Participants have described a culture of support for work as a key to implementing and maintaining lifestyle medicine programs. This type of culture “was collectively defined as that in which social resources were present, the physical environment supported life medicine behavior and colleagues engaged in the medicine of the lifestyle themselves”. Verbal, written and unwritten communication of key values such as confidence, gratitude, collaboration and optimism has also indicated a culture of support work.
Professor Joel Gittelsohn, PHD, MS, Senior Investigator of the Study, described his results as “incredibly informative and useful.
While more and more health systems are incorporating life -style medicine services, the experiences and best practices of those who have a successful implementation of lifestyle medicine can provide models that clarify the efforts of other systems. The case study approach was Crucial to develop a nuanced and contextually rich image of successes and challenges associated with the experience of each system to the integration of lifestyle medicine. “”
Dr Joel Gittelsohn, Professor, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
An increasing number of health systems, including New York Health + Hospitals and the US army, turn to life-based lifestyle medicine to help provide care in all the person and target the quintuple objective of better health results, lower cost, better patient satisfaction, improved well-being of providers and capital advanced health. There are now 116 members of health systems of 38 states of the American College Medicine Health Systems Council.
“One thing that clearly emerges from the results of this article is that the solid support of leadership and a unified organizational approach for the implementation of lifestyle medicine is a necessary and powerful facilitator,” said Dr. Gittelsohn. “The health systems that intentionally support defenders of lifestyle medicine and promote healthy lifestyle behavior throughout the organization are considered to be” walking walking “, which helps reach the adhesion of clinicians and patients.”
Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a main modality to treat chronic conditions, including, but without limiting itself, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Clinicians certified in lifestyle medicine are formed to apply a change in normative lifestyle based on evidence, whole and normative to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse these conditions. The application of the six pillars of lifestyle medicine – a whole restoration, a predominant food model of plants, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, positive social connections and avoidance of risky substances – also provide effective prevention for these conditions.
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Journal reference:
Durrwachter, N., et al. (2025). Role of the culture of the workplace in the successful implementation of lifestyle medicine: a series of qualitative cases among health systems in the United States. Open BMJ. DOI.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-087184.