Overview and Perspectives of Health Psychology

Question 1

What is Health Psychology?

Answer 1

Aims to understand the psychological interaction in the context of health, illness and healthcare

Question 2

2 major strands

Answer 2

1) promoting health (i.e. healthy behaviour)

2) improving support in healthcare for patients

Question 3

Aspect of health, healthcare and patient support

Answer 3

Health is important to most people and quickly affected by minor behavioural changes.
Health professionals need advice on how best to support patients.
Patients need help and support to manage their conditions.

Question 4

Knowledge-Action gap

Answer 4

only providing information is not enough to induce action

Question 5

COM-B model

Answer 5

3 components that affect behaviour change:

1) Capability (physical and psychological)
2) Opportunity (e.g. resources, time, cues)
3) Motivation (reflective and automatic processes)

Question 6

Historical Perspective

Answer 6

Life quality and expectancy increased in the 20th century and incidents of many infectious diseases declined.
This merely correlates with increasingly available medical treatment and vaccines.
The change is likely caused by the impacts of the industrial revolution.

Question 7

historical change in timeline of illnesses

Answer 7

Primarily acute diseases can be treated quicker but many people (increasingly with age) live with chronic health conditions.

Question 8

Chronic illness

Answer 8

cannot be spontaneously resolved and cured
disease course can either be stable or unstable after onset
caused by higher life expectancy under better living conditions

Question 9

Definition of Health

Answer 9

Not only physical but also mental and social well-being ->multidimensional

But: health is relative (i.e. living with a disability can have high levels of well-being)

Question 10

Definition of Disease

Answer 10

biological event that can be scientifically diagnosed

Question 11

Definition of Illness

Answer 11

subjective experience of psycho-social condition

Question 12

Biomedical model

Answer 12

investigating the components (symptoms) of a disease, identifying clusters of symptoms that trace back to a specific disease
-> biological focus

Question 13

Criticism of the biomedical model

Answer 13

1) reductionist
2) does not involve subjective experience of illness without pathological causes nor asymptomatic diseases
3) does not consider psychological and environmental factors
4) does not include promoting healthy behaviour
5) dehumanises and disempowers patients
6) How can it explain the effect of placebo or the impact of a good patient-doctor relationship for the effectiveness of treatment?
- > outdated model that has been mostly replaced by the biopsychosocial model

Question 14

Biopsychosocial model

Answer 14

includes biological, psychological and environmental/social aspects to curing disease and promoting good health

Question 15

2 major conceptual models for viewing disability

Answer 15

1) Medical model: disability is a health problem

2) Social model: disability is due to environmental problems (e.g. barriers)

Question 16

ICIDH (framework for defining disability)

Answer 16

International Classification of
Impairments (biological deviation)
Disability (restrictions to perform ‘normal’ behaviour)
Handicaps (social consequences and disadvantages)
Disease leads to Impairments, then Disabilities and Handicaps

Question 17

Criticism of ICIDH

Answer 17

1) linear causal relationship between factors implies a fixed sequence
2) negative and pathology-oriented language
3) places handicap in person rather than the environment
- > revised to the ICF (International classification of functioning, disability and health)

Question 18

ICF

Answer 18

International classification of functioning, disability and health

Question 19

3 levels of functioning (ICF)

Answer 19

1) body part - specific impairments
2) whole person - activity limitation
3) person in society - participation restriction