Have you seen a person like this?

What is health psychology?

Health psychology is concernedwith understanding how biological,psychological, environmental, andcultural factors are involved inphysical health and illness.

What is Health?

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”

- World Health Organization (1946, cited in Pitts, 2001)

Biopsychosocial model- views health and illness as the product of a combination of factors including biological characteristics (e.g., genetic predisposition), behavioral factors (e.g., lifestyle, stress, health beliefs), and social conditions (e.g., cultural influences, family relationships, social support).

4 Divisions of Health Psychology

1. Clinical health psychology (ClHP) is a termthat refers to the application of scientificknowledge, derived from the field of healthpsychology, to clinical questions that mayarise across the spectrum of health care.Clinical practice includes education, thetechniques of behavior change, andpsychotherapy.

2. Public health psychology (PHP) ispopulation oriented. A major aim ofPHP is to investigate potential causallinks between psychosocial factors andhealth at the population level. Publichealth psychologists present researchresults to educators, policy makers,and health care providers in order topromote better public health.

3. Community health psychology (CoHP)investigates community factors that contributeto the health and well-being of individuals wholive in communities. CoHP also developscommunity-level interventions that aredesigned to combat disease and promotephysical and mental health. The communityoften serves as the level of analysis, and isfrequently sought as a partner in health-relatedinterventions.

4. Critical health psychology (CrHP) is concerned withthe distribution of power and the impact of powerdifferentials on health experience and behavior,health care systems, and health policy. CrHPprioritizes social justice and the universal right tohealth for people of all races, genders, ages, andsocioeconomic positions. A major concern is healthinequalities. The critical health psychologist is anagent of change, not simply an analyst or cataloger. Aleading organization in this area is the InternationalSociety of Critical Health Psychology.

Health psychology is both atheoretical and applied field.

Methods used by health psychologists

1. Controlled randomized experiments2. Quasi-experiments3. Longitudinal studies4. Time-series designs5. Cross-sectional studies 6. Case-control studies7. Action research

Variables used by health psychologists

1. Genotype2. Cardiovascular disease (

cardiac psychology) 3. smoking habits4. religious beliefs5. alcohol use6. social support7. living conditions 8. emotional state9. social class

Occupational Health Psychology

A separate but related discipline, occupational health psychology (OHP) is a relatively new field that emerged out of the confluence of health psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, and occupational health.

The field is concerned with identifying psychosocial characteristics of workplaces that affect the health and well-being of people who work. OHP is also concerned with developingstrategies to effect change at workplaces in order to improve the health of people who work.

Objectives of health psychology

1. Understanding behavioral and contextual factors- Health psychologists conduct research to identify behaviors and experiences that promote health, give rise to illness, and influence the effectiveness of health care. They also recommend ways to improve health care and health-care policy.

Health psychologists have worked ondeveloping ways to reduce smoking andimprove daily nutrition in order to promotehealth and prevent illness.

Health psychology is also concerned withcontextual factors, including economic, cultural,community, social, and lifestyle factors that

influence health.

2. Preventing illness - Health psychologists also aim at

educating health professionals, including physicians and

nurses, in communicating effectively with patients in ways

that overcome barriers to understanding, remembering,

and implementing effective strategies for reducingexposures to risk factors and making health-enhancingbehavior changes.

3. The effects of disease- Health psychologists investigate how disease affects individuals' psychological well-being. An individual who becomes seriously ill or injured faces many different practical stressors.

3. Critical analysis of health policy - Critical health psychologists explore how health policy can influence inequities, inequalities, and social injustice. These avenues of research expand the scope of health psychology beyond the level of individual health to an examination of the social and economic determinants of health both within and between regions and nations.