SUBJECT

Health Psychology

lecture

master

Faculty of Education and Psychology

4

Semester 1

Autumn semester

Aim of the course:

This course provides an overview of the field of health psychology from the biopsychosocial and socioecological /system perspectives. The course also emphasizes the possible collaboration among health psychology and other related fields, including medical anthropology, epidemiology, medical sociology, health promotion. The clinical relevance of each topic is especially emphasized.

Learning outcome, competences

knowledge:

• Students will understand both biopsychosocial and socio-ecological perspectives and their application to various health issues and challenges.
• Students will be aware of behavioral determinants of health and diseases, and they will understand how to apply psychological interventions in order to change health-impairing behavior.
• Students will learn about stress process and various stress management approaches.
• Students will understand the psychological processes during hospitalization in non-mental health facilities.
• Students will understand the psychological approaches of chronic and end-of-life care.

attitude:

• Students will be open to work together with various health professionals, and they understand their different roles.
• Students will acknowledge the complex web of causation of various diseases and health problems.

skills:

• Students will be able to analyse health problems from biopsychosocial and socio-ecological (system) perspectives.
• Students will be able to communicate professionally with other health care providers about the psychological factors behind health problems.
• Students learn how to improve their knowledge continuously according to new health challenges.
• Students will be able to promote the roles that health psychologists play in promoting wellness and in addressing and treating psychological factors related to health and illness.

Content of the course

Topics of the course

• Definition and history of health psychology and its relationship to allied fields
• Concepts of health and quality of life
• Inequalities in health, morbidity, and mortality: possible psychological and behavioural explanations. The challenges of health literacy.
• Personality (types, traits, etc.) and health, morbidity, and mortality: history and critics, current trends
• Health impact of social integration, social relationships, social support
• Culture and health
• Stress and stress management
• Disease versus illness: sick role, illness behaviour, illness cognition and adjustment to chronic conditions,
• Adherence and its significance in medical treatment: patient–physician interactions, patient education, self-management, other factors in adherence
• Placebo and nocebo: the importance of expectancy in medical treatment
• Death, dying, and grief: major theories, research, and application
• The dangers of helping professionals: burnout and its prevention and treatment
• The life-span approach in health and illness.

Learning activities, learning methods

Lectures, homework, project work

Evaluation of outcomes

Learning requirements, mode of evaluation, criteria of evaluation:

requirements

• Two written tests during the semester: mostly multple choice and/or short questions
• A written assignment: (1) Biopsychosocial and socio-ecological analyses of a selected health problems based on the current research. (APA style)
• A written Wikipedia entry ot a youtube video about a health psychological construct_ a project work of three students in one group.

mode of evaluation:

• The two written tests yield the 50% of the grade (25% each).
• The written assignment a further 30%.
• The Wikipedia entry or youtube video 20%.

criteria of evaluation:

• The written test: 100-85%: excellent; 84%-70%: good; 69%-60%: average; 59%-50%: satisfactory/passed, 49% or below is failed.

Compulsory reading list

Books:

• Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath (2008). Health behavior and health education. San Fransisco: John Wiley & Sons
• Taylor, S. (2012). Health Psychology. Boston: McGraw Hill.

Chapters and papers:

• Addis, M. E., & Mihalik, J. R. (2003). Men, masculinity, and the contexts of help seeking. American Psychologist, 58, 5-14.
• Adler, N., & Stewart, J. (2010).Health disparities across the lifespan: Meaning, methods, and mechanisms. Annals of The New York Academy Of Sciences, 1186, 5–23.
• Awa, W. L., Plaumann, M., & Walter, U. (2010). Burnout prevention: A review of intervention programs. Patient Education and Counseling, 78, 184-190.
• Barlow, J. H., Wright, C. C., Sheasby, J. E., Turner, A. P., & Hainsworth, J. M. (2002). An overview of self-management approaches for people with chronic conditions. A review. Patient Education and Counselling, 48, 177–187.
• Bircher, J. (2005). Towards a dynamic definition of health and disease. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 8, 335-341.
• Bonanno, G. A., & Kaltman, S. (1999). Toward an integrative perspective on bereavement. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 760-776.
• Brosse (2002). Exercise and the Treatment of Clinical Depression in Adults. Sports Medicine. 32(12):741-60.
• Chapman, B. P., Roberts, B., & Duberstein, P. (2011). Personality and Longevity: Knowns, Unknowns, and Implications for Public Health and Personalized Medicine, Journal of Aging Research, 2011. doi:10.4061/2011/759170. Retrieved from http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/2011/759170/cta/.
• Davison, K. P., Pennebaker, J. W., & Dickerson, S. S. (2000). Who talks? The social psychology of illness support groups. American Psychologist, 55(2), 205-217.
• Epstein, R. M., Franks, P., Fiscella, K., Shields, C. G., Meldrum, S. C., Kravitz, R. L., & Duberstein, P. R. (2005). Measuring patient-centered communication in patient–physician consultations: theoretical and practical issues. Social science & medicine, 61(7), 1516-1528.
• Everly G. S. & Lanting, J.M. (2002). A Clinical Guide to the Treatment of the Human Stress Response (2nd Ed.). New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers, Chapter 11, 12, 13, pp. 199-240.
• Friedman, H .S., & Kern, M. L. (2014). Personality, Well-Being, and Health. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 719–742.
• Glanz, K., & Schwartz, M. D. (2008). Stress, coping, and health behavior. In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer, & K. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior and health education (pp. 211-236). San Fransisco: John Wiley & Sons.
• Haushofer, J., & Fehr, E. (2014). On the psychology of poverty, Science, 344, 862-866.
• Jones, L.R. and Wadden, T.A. (2006). State of the science: behavioural treatment of obesity. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr; 15 (Supp1):30-39.
• Miller and Rollnick (1991). Motivational interviewing. New York: Guilford Press. 51-138.
• Mullen, P.D., DiClemente, C.C., & Bartolomew, K.L. (2006). Theory and context in project PANDA: A program to help postpartum women stay off cigarettes. In: Bartolomew, L. K. et al. (Eds.). Planning health promotion programs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. pp. 579-605.
• Robinson, et al. (2002). The sexual health model. Health Education Research. 17, 43-57.
• Saitz, R. (2005). Unhealthy Alcohol Use. New England Journal of Medicine, 352, 6, 596-605.
• Schaalma, H. & Kok, G. (2006). A School HIV-prevention program in Netherlands. In: Bartolomew, L. K. et al. (Eds.). Planning health promotion programs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. pp. 511-544.
• Sime, W. E. (2007). Exercise Therapy for Stress Management. In: Lehrer, P. M., Woolfolk, R. L., & Sime, W. E. (Eds.). Principles and Practice of Stress Management. New York: The Guilford Press, 497-518.
• Stewart-Williams, S., & Podd, J. (2004). The Placebo Effect: Dissolving the Expectancy Versus Conditioning Debate. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 324–340.
• Swinburn, B. and Egger, G. (2002). Preventive strategies against weight gain and obesity. Obesity Reviews 3, 289–301
• Tedeshi R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundation and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 1-18.
• van Dulmen, S., Sluijs, E., van Dijk, L., de Ridder, D., Heerdink, R., & Bensing, J. (2007). Patient adherence to medical treatment: a review of reviews. BMC health services research, 7:55. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-7-55
• Williams, P. G., Holmbeck, G. N., & Greenley, R. N. (2002). Adolescent health psychology. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 828–842.

Recommended reading list

• Anshel, M. H. (2006). Applied exercise psychology: a practitioner’s guide to improving client health and fitness. New York, NY: Springer Pub.
• Lehrer, P. M., Woolfolk, R. L., & Sime, W. E. (2007). Principles and practice of stress management. New York: Guilford Press.
• Marks, D. (Ed.) (2002). The health psychology reader. London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE Publications.
• Taylor, R. R. (2006). Cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic illness and disability. New York: Springer.