Motivating future directions of behavioral medicine

Behavioral medicine stands to make a significant impact on the future horizons of health and healthcare. The top 10 causes of mortality worldwide are heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive lung disease, lower respiratory infections, trachea bronchus and lung cancers, HIV/AIDS, diarrheal diseases, diabetes mellitus, road injuries, and hypertensive heart disease [World Health Organization (WHO), 2012]. In 2011, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were responsible for 68% of all deaths globally and 7/10 causes of mortality are related to health behaviors (WHO, 2012). Behavior matters to prevent chronic disease and to minimize morbidity and mortality when it occurs. …