Program Overview

Introduction to Lifestyle Medicine (Online) Non-credit

Course Overview

The Introduction to Lifestyle Medicine (Online) Non-credit course is an online program that introduces the principles of nutrition, the role of physical activity in relation to health, and brief interventions for smoking. This 12-week course is aimed at doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals, as well as others interested in learning more about lifestyle medicine. The course consists of a series of recorded lectures with online self-assessment materials and weekly live discussions with the course instructors.

Course Delivery

• The course is delivered online over 12 weeks, from January 6th to March 28th, 2025.
• Informal Zoom discussions are scheduled on Thursdays, with topics including nutrition, diet and illness, behaviour change, smoking cessation, happiness, and overprescribing.
• The course content covers diet and diabetes prevention, diet and cardiovascular disease prevention, dietary assessment, sleep and managing insomnia, social prescribing, wellbeing in chronic illness, smoking cessation, principles of behaviour change, behaviour change in practice, and overtreatment.

Learning Outcomes

The course aims to equip participants with the following knowledge and skills:

Nutrition

• Identify the dietary recommendations that the UK population typically does not meet
• Identify the most commonly used dietary assessment methods
• Understand behavioural approaches to supporting individuals to achieve dietary change
• Be aware of digital resources that can support individuals to achieve dietary change

Knowledge of Basic Principles of Physical Activity

• Understand the evidence for the relationship between physical activity and health
• Know how to develop an exercise prescription

Knowledge of the Importance of Social Connectedness and Community Projects

• Understand the evidence linking health to social connectedness
• Understand assets-based community development
• Know one example of a community project

Introduction to Principles of Brief Interventions for Behaviour Change and Practical Motivational Interviewing Skills

• Be aware of different theories of behaviour change
• Understand the key principles of motivational interviewing
• Practice motivational interviewing skills

Introduction to Concepts of Deprescribing

• Be aware of deprescribing toolkits
• Be aware of deprescribing networks (e.g., English Deprescribing Network)
• Stimulate further study of the principles of lifestyle medicine

Entry Requirements

This course is aimed at clinicians, including primary and secondary care doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals.

Fees and Scholarships

The course fee is £250 per person.

Programme Team

The programme team includes experienced clinicians and researchers from the University of Birmingham, including:

• Tom Marshall
• Jodie Blackadder-Weinstein
• Marie Murphy
• Francesca Crowe
• Sam Finnikin
• Colin Greaves
• Amanda Farley
• Manny Bagari (NHS)
• Emma Woolf (Birmingham Open Spaces Forum)

Course Results

Upon completion of the course, participants will receive a Certificate of Completion.