ABSTRACT
Despite the general acceptance of the need for an interdisciplinary approach to health, our clinical practice often fails to reflect this. If anything, it seems that our practice has become increasingly fragmented and specialist over the last three decades. Although a number of case studies show the effectiveness and success of truly interdisciplinary research related to health (e.g. Kessel, Rosenfield and Anderson, 2008), the tendency towards monodisciplinarity remains (e.g. Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), 2005; Danermark, 2009). This is not to disparage the great strides that have been made in the specialist spheres, particularly in terms of the development of pharmaceuticals designed to combat particular diseases. However, medical specialization has been sustained by the long-established academic disciplinary divisions and reinforced by funding priorities that prefer discrete research projects over complex interdisciplinary ones, especially if they are empirical, correlative, and laboratory-based.
