PPM - Health Psychology

what is health psychology the aggregate of the specific educational, scientific and professional contributions of the discipline of psychology to the promotion and maintenance of health, the prevention and treatment of illness, the identification of diagnostic and aetiological correlate of health, illness and related dysfunction, and the analysis and improvement of the healthcare system and health policy formation what is health promotion - the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. what is maintenance of good health - a guiding principle in health care that emphasizes health promotion and disease prevention rather than the management of symptoms and illness. what is prevention of illness - actions aimed at avoiding the manifestation of a disease what is the treatment of illness - the use medicine, therapy, surgery, and other treatments to help lessen the symptoms and effects of a disease what is disease aetiology - the reason or origination of disease what is disease pathophysiology - the physiology of abnormal states specifically : the functional changes that accompany a particular syndrome or disease. - why d some people get ill and other don't - why might a person who exhibits a what questions does health psychology healthy lifestyle avoid injection or going aim to answer to the dentist - why so some patients take their meds as prescribed, but others don't - can personal characteristics, such as 1/8 gender and age, affect people behaviours towards health and illness what is clinical psychology - a field which integrates science, theory and practice to understand, predict and alleviate maladjustment, disability and discomfort as well as to promote human adaptation, adjustment and personal development what is public psychology - aims to investigate potential causal links between psychological factors and health at the population level in order to promote better public health what is total health - a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. what is mental health - a "state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community". what is social well being - the ability to function satisfactorily in social roles such as work, family and recreation 1. health as not ill (hv no symptoms) 2. health as reserve (come from a strong family) 3. health as behaviour ( i look after my myself) explain the results of the Blaxter (1990) 4. health as physical fitness and vitality (i to the public views on health and illness feel fit) 5. health as psychosocial wellbeing (mental state) 6. health as function (i can do what i want when i want without my state of health holding me back) 2/8 - ancient times: widely believed that illness was due to sorcery or possession by evil spirits - then the ancient greeks became aware that disease was a natural process: but explain the history of people's perception believed all disease resulted from an imof illness balance between four different types of bodily fluids known as the humors - 16th-19th centuries, discovery gross anatomy, tissues and cells within the body led to a huge increase in understanding how the body worked - considers that a symptom of illness is always due to an underlying pathology - view described as reductionist (mind, matter, human behaviour can all be reduced to the level of cells) - treatment of illness is disease-centred (focuses on the disease itself and not on the patient) - viewpoint ignores the fact that people explain the biomedical model of illness respond differently to the same underlying disease because of differences in personality, social support or cultural beliefs - recognition of the fact that these differences affect patients' responses to the development and progression of disease led to the development of the biopsychosocial model explain the biopsychosocial model - acknowledges that there is a psychological component to illness and disease - allows for subjectivity due to the "action of the mind" (placebo effect, phantom limb pain) 3/8 what does the biopsychosocial model take into account 1. behaviour: the adaptation and maintenance of new behaviours may dramatically affect health outcomes 2. emotions: subjective feelings and emotional states 3. cognition: thoughts, beliefs, attitudes formed by early life that influences perception of health risks 4. personality: characteristic ways of thinking and feeling shaped by temperament and early experiences explain the health continuum model - where people move between good health and illness continuously regardless of the illness being physical or mental or been curved vs stabilised what is health inequalities - differences in health status or in the distribution of health determinants between different population groups what is health inequity - avoidable inequalities in health between groups of people within countries and between countries - social and economic conditions and their effects on people's lives determine their risk of illness and the action taken to prevent them becoming ill or treat illness when it occurs what is the difference between health inequalities and inequities - inequalities are attributable to biological variations or free choice and others are attributable to the external environment and conditions mainly outside the control of the individuals concerned - inequality may be unavoidable due to health determinants impossible to change (genetics) or ethically or ideologically unacceptable to change 1. giving every child the best start in life 2. ensuring a healthy standard of living 4/8 what are the 4 policy objectives related to health for all 3. creating and developing sustainable places and communities 4. strengthening the role and impact of ill-health prevention 1. health behaviour: an activity undertaken by a person believing himself to be healthy for the purpose of preventing disease or detecting it in a symptomatic stage explain Kasl & Cobb (1966) distinctions 2. illness behaviour: an activity undertakbetween the 3 different types of health en by a person who feels ill, to define behaviour the state of his health and to discover a suitable remedy 3. sick role behaviour: an activity undertaken for the purpose of getting well, by those who consider themselves ill (includes receiving treatment) - behaviour performed by an individual, explain Harris & Guten (1979) definition regardless of perceived health status, of health behaviour with the purpose of protecting, promoting or maintaining health explain Matarazzo (1984) definition of health behaviour divided health behaviours into: - health impairing habits or behaviour pathogens (smoking, eating high fat diet) - health protective behaviours or behavioural immunogens (exercising regularly, eating healthy diet) - extraversion (vs introversion): extraverts are sociable and active,they enjoy meeting people and going parties - neuroticism (vs. emotional stability): what three key traits did Hans Eysenck neuroticism as reflecting differences in (1982) identify about the personality imthe intensity of negative emotional expepact on health behaviour rience - psychoticism (vs. self control): individuals high on the psychoticism scale are tough-minded, non-conformist and will5/8 ing to take risks, and may engage in antisocial behaviour - there are 5 traits that made up personality (big five) - agreeableness - conscientiousness - extraversion - neuroticism - openness (to experience) explain McCrae & Costa (1992) views on - risk taking behaviour increases the personality impact on health behavamongst individuals scoring high on iour extraversion and openness and less among those scoring higher on agreeableness and conscientiousness - neuroticism is associated with levels of high health care use but not engage in more health enhancing behaviours than others explain the self determination theory (deci and ryan 2000) - theory to explain why some people are more motivated to adopt specific health behaviours - autonomous motivation: the person feels a profound sense or choice. - controlled motivation: the person feels obliged and driven by external forces such as managers or society in general - when individuals feel they are granted choice and autonomy, their persistence and well being improves - intrinsic: an individual will complete a task because it is inherently enjoyable, challenging or significant and not beexplain how the self determination theocause they are forced to do so ry defines intrinsic and extrinsic motiva- extrinsic: an individual completes a task tion because there is an external reward to do so - an individual is much more likely to 6/8 adopt health behaviour when they are categorised as autonomous and intrinsic - individuals either have: - internal LOC: they are responsible for their own actions, and their own actions explain the locus on control theory (Rotaffect what happens to them ter 1966) - external LOC: what happens to them is due to external factors such as fate or luck - internal individuals will demonstrate high levels of health protective behaviour - external individuals will not consider it worth making efforts to improve their explain what wallston added to the locus health as they believe it is down to luck of control theory or fate - powerful others believe that their health is determined by the action of others e.g. doctors what components make up attitudes - cognitive: consisting of beliefs about the attitude-object e.g cigarettes is a good way to relieve stress - emotion (or affective): consisting of feelings towards the attitude-object e.g. smoking is pleasurable - behavioural: the intended action towards the attitude-object e.g. i am not going to smoke - some individuals are willing to engage in risky behaviour as either they don't consider themselves to be at risk, or they consider themselves to be at less risk than other people. their perception of risk explain unrealistic optimism as a factor is biased influencing health behaviour factors associated with unrealistic optimism - a lack of personal experience to the problem - a belief that their actions can prevent 7/8 the problem - a belief that if the problem has not emerged already, it is unlikely to do so in the future - a belief that the problem is rare - Bandura (1986): a belief by an individual in their capabilities to exercise control over their own functioning and over events that affect their lives theory shaped by: - past experiences of their own success explain self efficacy as a factor influenc- - past experiences of seeing someone ing health behaviour similar to them managing tas demands successfully - belief that they are capable of succeeding in given activities - belief that they have personal strengths which they can call on to help the succeed 8/8