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Artistic representations of disease are widespread yet largely ignored in health psychology research. In this paper we use two infectious diseases, tuberculosis and the plague, as tracers to study how infectious diseases are represented in novels, films, paintings, and songs. They were represented especially in terms of their causes and seriousness. Studying how diseases are represented in various art forms extends our understanding of how they are socially constructed. This knowledge can also be incorporated into the training of health care providers to sensitize them to issues in patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which describes a course on Literature and Medicine (LitMed) designed to encourage medical students at a university medical center to incorporate the biopsychosocial model into their clinical skills. The course is contextualized and described within the field of medical humanities. It presents the composition of the course along with details of relevant novels, study materials and assignment examples. Also provided are suggestions for future teaching activities.