Lifestyle Medicine and Prevention (LMAP) is a pair of core modules aimed at first and second year medical students at Imperial College London. The LMAP modules draw upon a blend of biomedical evidence and the social science research that influence health behaviour at an individual and population level.
Each module includes insights from Imperial College experts as well as professionals from external academic and health care institutions. The result is a series of engaging, evidence-based learning opportunities that develop clinical skills and promote student well-being.
Welcome to White City
Dr Edward Maile, Academic Clinical Fellow and one of LMAP’s developers introduces medical students to the concept of wider determinants of health in nearby White City
Accordion widget
The first-year module (LMAP-1A) lays the foundation for students to understand core lifestyle factors, their impact on health outcomes and the theory of behaviour change techniques.
First year medical students are introduced to the module in a large group session of 45 students. After this, the vast majority of teaching is delivered through a blended approach of guided online learning and small-group clinician-led tutorials of between 12 and 30 students.
The LMAP-1A module comprises core learning events on the following topics:
- The scientific method and research ethics
- Population health and inequalities
- Behaviour change techniques
- Sleep, stress and dependence
- Relationships and health
- Financial well-being
- Physical activity
- Nutrition
Imperial College London School of Medicine (ICSM) Lifestyle Tracking Study (LTS)
The LTS is an ethically approved and immersive research experience where students submit their own smartphone-based activity data for subsequent epidemiological analysis. All students are invited to participate at the start of their first year. Participation is optional, but critically analysing the study design and interpreting the statistical findings is a key component of the LMAP-1A module.
A pseudonymised dataset is released to students for analysis at the end of the year in research skills teaching. Some of the analyses are then used during epidemiology teaching in the second year of the course so that students can understand some of the more challenging epidemiology more intuitively by using their own data.
Assessment in LMAP-1A
Students undertake a Student Choice Component (SCC) in Term 3. Every student is asked to indicate their preference for one of the five lifestyle medicine themes. Thereafter they complete in-depth learning on their chosen theme and are placed into teams of 5-6 students. Each team is tasked with producing an audio podcast which is supplemented with an individual academic commentary on their podcast. The podcast constitutes 80% of their overall mark, with the academic commentary and peer evaluation making up the remainder of the summative assessment.
The LMAP-1B module builds and connects the content covered in first year and continues on a blended approach of guided online learning and small-group teaching session.
Students have the opportunity to transfer skills taught during LMAP-1B to other aspects of their training, such as patient consultations during their clinical placements.
The LMAP-1B module is built in four learning packages:
- Epidemiology, research skills and evidence-based practice
- Coaching, motivational interviewing and brief interventions
- Health across the life course (incorporating social prescribing)
- Global health and governance (incorporating approaches to the Sustainable Development Goals and approaches to social advocacy)
Assessment in LMAP-1B
Students undertake a summative 100-item multiple-choice assessment in Term 3. Students receive support to prepare for the assessment through provision of a formative assessment and follow-up live session to answer any assessment-related questions.
Innovative pedagogies
The LMAP modules are designed around the flipped-classroom approach, which transfers more than 90% of the didactic content to the online space. This enables students to proceed at their own pace and investigate optional content based around their own interests.
We incorporate interactive knowledge application activities, actor-led narratives and bite-size conversations with industry experts on key topics. Following completion of the guided online learning, students attend clinician-led small group teaching to consolidate their understanding and application.
Priya and Jessica
In the first LMAP module, students are taken through a narrative arc that follows Priya and the constellation of pressures and challenges she faces in her personal and professional life. We recorded scenes on location in Bermondsey, reflecting on the importance of physical activity and nutrition.
Students have also participated in panel discussions regarding topics such as lifestyle medicine in clinical practice and health advocacy. These sessions allow our students to directly engage with health system leaders within and reflect on the opportunities available to drive societal change.
The LMAP staff team accompanied by guest speakers from the module’s introductory panel discussion: Dr Rupy Aujla (General Practitioner and founder of ‘Doctor’s Kitchen’), Dr Zoe Williams (General Practitioner and director of British Society of Lifestyle Medicine), Dr Rosie Gilbert (Ophthalmologist and founder of ‘Eating for Eye Health’) and Dr Ailsa Lumsden (Consultant Oncologist).
Student well-being
LMAP encourages medical students to address their own health and well-being through integrating reflective exercises, key research findings on student well-being, primary research through the Lifestyle Tracking Study and introduction of ‘LMAP wellbeing challenges’ throughout the two modules.
“We support our students to be physically active by integrating active podcasts into online learning content. Students are also encouraged to reflect on the barriers to physical activity and share potential solutions with each other using the COM-B model of behaviour change.”
-Dr Amy Bannerman, LMAP Strategic Clinical Teaching Fellow
Learning by example
The LMAP team believes it's important for educators to represent the module’s core values. As a contribution to a staff-wide physical activity challenge, the LMAP team has recently worked together to collectively run or cycle a total of 621km to raise money for a charitable cause. Sharing this challenge and its less-obvious health benefits with students demonstrated our commitment to establishing positive behaviour change.
Academic and media contributions
As one of the leading medical schools in the field of Lifestyle Medicine teaching, we continue to critically evaluate our impact and share findings with the wider educational network.
Here are a few examples of past and upcoming academic outputs from the LMAP teaching team:
- Pinder R, Bauld L, Findlater H, Mohanamurali A, Johnson A, Birrell F. Is it time to embed Lifestyle Medicine in undergraduate and postgraduate curricula? Lifestyle Medicine. 2022; https://doi.org/10.1002/lim2.59. ISSN: 2688-3740
- Pinder R, Bannerman A, Soundararajan V, Ryan L, Harvey C, 2021, Mainstreaming Lifestyle Medicine education in the UK: reflections and lessons on three years of innovation. Lifestyle Medicine 2021, American College of Lifestyle Medicine. 7-10 November 2021. Virtual Conference, Dallas, USA.
- Birrell FN, Pinder RJ, Lawson RJ, 2021, Lifestyle medicine is no Trojan horse: it is an inclusive, evidence-based, and patient-focused movement, British Journal of General Practice, Vol: 71, Pages: 300-300, ISSN: 0960-1643
- Baker Y, Kotecha J, Bannerman A. Physical activity in the Lifestyle Medicine and Prevention module at Imperial College School of Medicine: Do we practise what we preach? JASME, Junior Association for the Study of Medical Education. 23 October 2021. Virtual Conference.
- Bannerman A, Harvey C, Maile E, Pinder RJ. Mainstreaming Wellbeing and Preventive Health into the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum. ICPH 2021, International Conference on Physician Health, British Medical Association and American Medical Association. 26-30 April 2021. Virtual Conference.
- Bannerman A, Harvey C, Maile E, Pinder R, 2020, Reflections from delivering the first Lifestyle Medicine and Prevention Module at Imperial College School of Medicine. BSLM 2020, British Society of Lifestyle Medicine Annual Conference. 3-5 September 2020. Virtual Conference, Edinburgh UK.
- Bannerman A, Harvey C, Maile E, Pinder R, 2020, Unintended benefits of bringing junior doctors into a new undergraduate medicine small group teaching programme: Reflections on Lifestyle Medicine and Prevention at Imperial College School of Medicine. AMEE 2020, Association for Medical Education in Europe Annual Conference. 7-9 September 2020. Virtual Conference.
- Harvey C, Bannerman A, Pinder R, Maile E, 2020, Teaching lifestyle medicine in the undergraduate curriculum, The Clinical Teacher, Vol: 17, Pages: 133-133, ISSN: 1743-4971
LMAP-related Instagram content delivered by Dr Amy Bannerman and Dr Christopher Harvey was identified as interesting by 94% (n=128) of viewers.