Integrating health humanities in medical education: a narrative scoping review of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences and global perspectives

Abstract The medical humanities are an interdisciplinary field that combines the humanities, social sciences, and arts with medical education and practice. It fosters a multidisciplinary understanding of the human condition, patient suffering, the roles of healthcare professionals, and the community surrounding them. Familiarity with the humanities enhances physicians’ perspectives, communication skills, understanding of patients, and overall quality of healthcare. This article reviews the general and health humanities courses offered at the Faculty of Medicine at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (MAZUMS) in Iran, and those available worldwide. New incremental courses have been introduced at MAZUMS, along with early-stage integrated approaches. Our study of universities worldwide examined medical schools across the US, Canada, Europe, the UK, China, Taiwan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Africa, and Australia. It aimed to understand how health humanities are organized, their importance, and their benefits. We found that while Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences recently added health humanities courses, integration remains limited compared to leading institutions. The study demonstrates that incorporating health humanities enhances empathy, reflective skills, and patient care. These findings suggest that a structured approach can fill gaps, improve medical education in Iran as well as many countries, and align it with global standards.