ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns the nature of conceptual knowledge and the process of conceptual change in the domains of medicine and health. Biomedicine is a complex and diverse knowledge-rich domain. We are particularly interested in scientifi c knowledge as it pertains to clinical practice and as it relates to lay individual’s reasoning about matters of health and illness. The chapter raises a number of questions. Physicians receive extensive training in the biomedical sciences. How do they use this complex scientifi c knowledge when they make diagnostic and treatment decisions? How does this knowledge support decision heuristics that are the products of experience? What are the implications for medical education? The issues are somewhat different in the fi eld of health cognition. The term lay people refers to individuals who have no formal training in the health sciences. What kind of health-related knowledge do lay people need to have to take good care of their health? How will this change in response to the shifting demands of the healthcare system? How does knowledge affect reasoning and how does it change with learning? And fi nally, how can health professionals and lay people effectively communicate with each other despite many conceptual differences in their understanding of health and disease? These are some of the framing issues that guide the discussion in this chapter.
