Health Psychology Sem2Yr2 Flashcards
How can health psychology be defined?
The application of psychology to the study of health and ill-health
What are the different types of research methods in psychology?
- Randomised control trials
- Qualitative ideographic approaches
- meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Case studies
- Questionnaire-based surveys
- Clinical observation
What are some historical health beliefs?
- In the early middle ages, people believe health was a punishment from god or evil spirits entering the soul
- People believed they had little control over their health
- Priests were health medics by exorcising evil spirits
Why was Descartes (1685-1650) important to health psychology?
Proposed dualism - the interaction of mind and body
Believed that the brain and body were made up of material matter
The mind was non-material
The interaction occurred through the Pineal gland
Made it more acceptable to do autopsies because the sole had left the body
What is the biological approach in health psychology?
When advances in medical research developed in the 19th century, health psychology was seen from a more medical perspective
Health was considered the normal state and ill-health was when external bodies entered the body
Who developed the germ theory of how microorganisms caused illnesses?
Pasteur (1864)
How can health be defined?
Historically viewed as the absence of disease.
Who did the biomedical model?
Papas, Belar, & Rozensky, 2004
What is the biomedical model?
Views health from the perspective of medicine and biology
What is the holistic definition of health?
Considers health as environment, lifestyle, and behavioural choices
What is the biopsychosocial model?
Considering health psychology from the perspective of psychology, biology and sociology.
According to the biopsychosocial model, answer these questions:
1. What causes illness?
2. Who is responsible for illness?
3. How should illness be treated?
4. Relationship between health and illness?
5. Relationship between mind and body?
6. Role of psychology in health?
- Multifaceted
- Patients, not necessarily passive
- Holistic treatment of whole person
- Continuum
- Separate with interaction
- Psychological consequence to illness but also contributes to aetilogy.
According to the biomedical model, answer these questions:
1. What causes illness?
2. Who is responsible for illness?
3. How should illness be treated?
4. Relationship between health and illness?
5. Relationship between mind and body?
6. Role of psychology in health?
- External disease invading the body or internal
involuntary changes - The patients are victims
- Physiological medicine
- Separate
- Separate
- Psychological consequence, not cause
Who developed the biopsychosocial model?
Engel (1977)
What is the definition of health risk behaviour?
Any behaviour with a frequency or intensity that increases the risk of disease or injury
What is the definition of health-enhancing behaviour?
Activities that may help to prevent disease/detect diseases and disability at an early stage, promote and enhance health, or protect from risk of injury
What are cohort studies?
They help us determine the association between behaviours and health status
What are RCTs and dose-response studies?
Refine the detail and complexities of these associations
What are the 6 key determinants of health?
- Physical activity
- Diet
- Smoking
- Alcohol consumption
- Attending screenings
- Sexual health
According to Weller et al (2009), are men or women more willing to engage in screenings?
Women
What demographics are less likely to attend screening?
- Lower-income
- Lower levels of education
- Socially deprived backgrounds
What demographics are more likely to smoke?
- Unmarried
- Unemployed
- Lower-level of education
What percentage of adults drink over the recommended weekly guidelines?
19%
What are the demographics for sexual health?
- Young people have the highest rates of sexual diseases
- Young women are more likely to be diagnosed with an STD
What does it mean by determinants of health?
Factors that influence the health of individuals/communities
What are health inequalities?
Differences in health outcomes that may be deemed unfair
What is the ecological model of public health? (Mcleroy, Bibeau, Steckler, & Glanz (1988))
Individual - Attitudes, knowledge, and skills
Interpersonal - Family, friends, social networks
Organisational - Organisations, social institutions
Community - relationships among organisations
Public policy - National, state, local laws
What does evidence suggest that are perceptions determine?
- Respond to perceived symptoms
- Make decisions regarding help seeking behaviour
- Make decisions regarding adhering to medical advice
- Function in terms of well-being
What individual factors contribute to our perceptions of health and our health related behaviour?
- Culture
- Lifespan development
- Gender
- Personality
- Attitudes
- Fears
How does age effect our perception of health?
- Lack of understanding
- experiences of health in ourselves and others
- Health expectations
How does culture effect our perception of health?
Differences between collectivist and individualist cultures.
- Do people view health as an individual or collective responsibility?
Acceptance of alternate therapies
Concepts such as mental health vs spiritual possession
~Obesity : Western societies appropriateness of fast food, food convenience and portion sizes have contributed to the obesity epidemic.
~Hypertension : Western societies associate this with processed foods high in salt. African cultures associate it with stock cubes.
How does gender effect our perception of health?
Men contact health services less often
What is the health belief model? (HOCHBAUM, ROSENSTOCK
& KEGELS (1950S); BECKER
& ROSENSTOCK (1988)
It is a COGNITIVE MODEL that assumes behaviour is as a result of rational processing of the costs and benefits the behaviour
Originally used to understand how perceptions of health could influence health behaviours and response to treatment in chronically ill patients
New demographics of the model:
Perceived susceptibility
Perceived severity
Costs of behaviour
Benefits of behaviour
–>Lead to behavioural intention
Cues to action
Health motivation
Perceived control/self-efficacy
What is the effect of educational intervention based on the health belief model on promoting self care behaviours of type-2 diabetes patients?
(Shabibi et al. (2017)) - study
Rationale - Need for patients to understand how to self-manage their condition, they should be made to understand the severity of their condition
Intervention using the principles of HMB
4 - 60 min sessions in a month (once per week)
session 1 - intro about diabetes, symptoms, complications, ways to prevent
session 2 - knowledge of self-care aspects: food care, regular drug use, physical activities
session 3 - healthy diet and proper nutrition
session 4 - testing blood sugar with practical demonstrations
6 questions on perceived susceptibility
6 questions on perceived benefits
5 questions on perceived severity
7 questions on perceived barriers
10 questions on self-efficacy
tested with t-tests
CONCLUSIONS
- health interventions can be beneficial for altering health perceptions
Evaluation of Health Belief Model
Has been used in numerous health contexts - safe sex, dental visits, exercise
There is contradictory research between relationship with behavioural interventions and low perceived severity and susceptibility.
Focuses on behaviour intention not actual behaviour