SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH Health Psychology

1. SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTHHealth Psychology Lecture 1 Introduction & scope of Health Psychology

2. Presentation outline.. • Definitions & goals of Health Psychology • Psychology as a science • What does health psychologist do? • The need for health psychologist • Importance of the health psychology. • Mind- body relationship: Biomedical model versus bio-psychosocial model.

3. Expectations What are your expectations for this course? How does this course help you in your profession as aspiring Public health Officer? What do you understand about Psychology or Health Psychology?

4. Definition of terms PSYCHOLOGY The word psychology has its origin in Greek. Psyche means soul Logy it means study The symbol below is a Greek Letter that represent the word psychology:

5. Definition of terms cont. Culture: the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time Habits: something which you do often and regularly, sometimes without knowing that you are doing it. Customs: a way of behaving or a belief which has been established for a long time Norms: an accepted standard or a way of behaving or doing things that most people agree with

6. Definition of terms cont. • Percepts: The object of perception. In other words, is the mental impression of something perceived by the senses, viewed as the basic component in the formation of concepts. • Concepts: Mental representations of kinds or categories of items or ideas. Eg. It is very difficult to define the concept of beauty. • Dependent variables: Dependent variable In an experimental setting, any variable whose values are the results of changes in one or more independent variables. Also called criterion variable. • Independent variables: Independent variable In experimental settings, the stimulus condition whose values are free to vary independently of any other variable in the situation. In a drug study an investigator may give several doses of a drug (independent variable) to determine the most effective, symptom-reducing (dependent variable) level.

7. PSYCHOLOGY Is a social science. Is a science of behavior and mental processes. The mental and behavioral characteristics of an individual or group. Psychologists are concerned with obtaining scientific information about human being (think, feel and do ). They examine the observable behavior, cognitive processes, physiological events, social & cultural influences and hidden & largely unconscious processes.

8. WHY PSYCHOLOGYIS A SCIENCE?

9. Object of study It is a subjective reflex of the reality in the human brain. Psyche DESCRIBING behavior and mental processes. EXPLAINING why these behaviors and mental processes occurred. PREDICTING future events based on main elements of past events. CONTROLLING and CHANGING behaviors and mental processes.

10. Research Methods

11. Conceptual and theoretical system

12. Interdisciplinary approaches

13. Health Psychology

14. What is health? • Salleras 1985

15. What is Health Psychology? Health psychology is an interdisciplinary field concerned with the application of psychological knowledge and techniques to health, illness, and health care. It is the branch of psychology which studies psychological aspects of health-disease process. It is focused thoroughly on promotion, prevention, treatment, learning-teaching process and investigation.

16. What does health psychologist do? • Health psychology can take on different roles: • Carry out research. • Provide and improve health services. • Carry out health promotion in communities. • Work as activists/facilitators/agents of change to improve social conditions to empower people Definitions of health have implications for theory, practice, policy, and health promotion.

17. The need for Health Psychology • Changing patterns of illness: much disease esp. acute disorders in which psychological and social factors are implicated as causes were drastically reduced. Eg. Personal health habits such as diet and smoking are implicated in the development of heart disease & cancer. • Expanded health care services: another factor contributed to health psychology. The significance of health care to every individual and the need to judicious utilization of scares resources is of key interests to health psychologists.

18. Cont. • Increased medical acceptance: through their intervention, caregivers are increasingly recognizing that psychological and social factors are always important in health and illness. • Demonstrated contributions to health: they have developed a variety of short-term behavioral interventions to address a wide variety of health-related problems, including managing pain, modifying bad health habits, such as smoking, managing the side effects or Rx effects associated with a range of chronic diseases. • Methodological contributions: are valuable member of the clinical research team by providing the methodological and statistical expertise that is the hallmark of good training in psychology.

19. Health Psychology include the interaction of biological, psychological and social factors in health–illness process.

20. Importance of the Health Psychology in the medical practice. You can find the importance of Health Psychology through the mind- body relationship.

21. Body-Mind Relationship • Psychology gives an holistic conception about human being, for that reason the mind and body cannot be separated in matter of health and illness. • There are bodily disorders caused by emotional conflict: ulcers, hyperthyroidism, hypertension, bronchial asthma, neurodermatitis and so on. • In the other hand bodily disorders can cause psychological disorders , for example: anxiety, depression, fear, insomnia and so on.

22. Biopsychosocial Model vs. Biomedical Model Biomedical Model The Biomedical Model, governed the thinking of most health practitioners for the last 300 years, maintains that all illness can be explained on the basis of aberrant somatic processes, such as biochemical imbalances or neuropsychological abnormalities. The Biomedical model assumes that psychological and social processes are largely independent of the disease process.

23. Criticizes to the Biomedical model Reductionistic model:reduces illness to low-level processes, such as cells disorder and chemical imbalances. is essentially a single-factor model of illness: it explain illness in terms of biological malfunction.

24. assumes a mind-body dualism, maintaining that, mind and body are separate entities. Emphasizes illness over health: it focuses on aberrations that lead to illness. (G.L Engel, 1977)

25. Biopsychosocial model Maintains that biological, psychological and social factors are all-important determinants of health and illness. The macrolevel processes (such as the existence of social support, the presence of depression ) and microlevel processes (such as cellular disorder or chemical imbalances) interact to produce a state of health or illness.

26. Maintains that the health and illness are caused by multiple factors and produce multiple effects. Maintains that the mind and body cannot be distinguished in matter of health and illness. Both so clearly influence an individual’s state of health.

27. Emphasize both health and illnessrather than regarding illness as a deviation from some steady state. • Health becomes something that one achieve through attention to biological, psychological and social needs. (WHO 1948).

28. All level of organization in any entity are linked to each other hierarchically, and that change in any one level will effect change in all the other level.

29. Conclusions • Health Psychology is a branch of Psychology, it is a science which studies psychological aspects of the health-illness process in an individual or a group of persons. • Health psychology aims to apply psychological theories, methods and research to the promotion of health, prevention and treatment of illness and disability, analysis and improvement of the health care system and health policy formation.

30. Conclusion… Health Psychology includes the interaction of biological, psychological and social factors in health-illness processes. Mind and Body together determine health and disease according to the Bio-psychosocial Model.

31. Bibliography 1-Health Psychology, Fourth Edition, Shelley E. Taylor. Page 3 up to 16. 2-Psychology in action, Huffman, Vernoy and Williams.Chapter 1, page 5.