Health Psychology

Session Learning Outcomes

  • Define health & illness

  • Understand and apply models of health psychology to public health

  • Understand the profession's role in public health. Big AHP MDT working.

What is Health?

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as:

    • "A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." (WHO, 2024)

    • Not just an absence of an illness.

    • Health is considered a fundamental right.

    • Health should be informed by knowledge and why and cooperative public efforts. Informed of how to look after our own health. Benefits and how to attain health.

    • Health inequality is highlighted as a significant issue e.g. controlling diseases in different countries. Not living in areas where this is possible.

What is Illness?

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) defines illness as:

    • "A disease or sickness that has an effect on the mind or body." (WHO, 2024)

  • Classification of illness:

    • Acute: Short-term condition. Sudden.

    • Chronic: Long-term or persistent condition. Can impact on their health but doesn’t mean that they are unhealthy.

  • Illness can present a threat to health, well-being, and longevity. The illness can be managed but if not, can lead to a threat.

    • Reference: Banyard, 2019.

What is Health Psychology?

  • Health psychology investigates how health and illness affect people’s quality of life and overall well-being.

  • Research goals include:

    • Understanding the role of beliefs, cognition, attitudes, and behaviors in health and illness.

    • Working with people to improve health behaviors.

    • Assisting individuals in dealing with illness/injury to improve Quality of Life (QoL).

    • Developing public health programs and educational campaigns.

    • Influencing government policy.

    • Work on research in public health.

    • Reference: Banyard, 2019.

Models of Health Psychology

  • Biomedical Model:

    • Assumes health changes result from underlying genetics, aging, or specific injury/illness. Physical thing happening in the body affecting your health.

  • Biopsychosocial Model:

    • Assumes behavior, thoughts, and social factors all play vital roles in health. Thinking of impact and functioning of an individual.

    • Reference: Banyard, 2019.

  • ICF model- motivation, environmental.

Health Behaviours

  • Health Promoting Behaviours: Actions taken to enhance or maintain health.

  • Health Limiting Behaviours: Actions that negatively impact health.

  • Consideration of which models can predict/explain health behaviors is essential.

    • Reference: Gross, 2020.

  • Health belief model- helps understand why people engage in things that we know are good/ bad for us.

  • Perceived benefits: The belief that a specific action will lead to a positive health outcome significantly influences an individual's motivation to adopt health-promoting behaviours.

  • Perceived severity- whether they think participating in this will impact their health in a negative way.

  • Cost

  • Susceptibly- how likely you think you’re going to get it.

  • Holistic and looks at the whole person. Looks at the why.

  • Theory of reasoned action- behaviour is influenced by intentions, which are shaped by attitudes toward the behavior and subjective norms surrounding that behavior. Social pressure. Hard to get the person to engage in health promoting behaviours. Their attitudes.

  • Theory of planned behaviour-suggests that intentions are not only influenced by attitudes and subjective norms but also by perceived behavioral control, which is the individual's belief in their ability to perform a given behavior. This model emphasizes the importance of self-efficacy and the potential barriers that may prevent someone from engaging in health-promoting behaviors.

Influences on health behaviours

  • Parts of the brain that inhibit risk taking behaviour- prefrontal cortex. Limbic system enjoy the feeling of dopamine and risk taking. Increase of risk taking behaviour.

  • Social impacts- peer pressure. Indirect reinforcement.

  • Identity- more autonomy and intergrate with peer groups.

  • Biological and social theories.

  • Personality- theories.

  • Chapter- health behaviours- Introduction to Health Psychology.

What is Public Health?

  • The UK Faculty of Public Health defines public health as:

    • "The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health and well-being through the organized efforts of society." (Faculty of Public Health, 2020).

    • 5 ways to well-being. Adapting the ways for parents with children with ALN. What public health is and what SLT can do to support it.

    • Moving away from the medical model. More holistic for the individual.

Working Tree of Public Health

  • Objective: Building and mobilizing knowledge and skills to improve health and well-being across Wales.

  • Strategic goals:

    • Influencing the wider determinants of health.

    • Improving mental well-being and resilience.

    • Supporting sustainable health and care systems focused on prevention and early intervention.

    • Promoting healthy behaviours.

    • Protecting the public from infection and environmental threats to health.

    • Securing a healthy future for the next generation.

    • Reference: Public Health Wales, 2023.

    • Low socio-ecomonic areas are of a greater risks.

    • Maslow’s hierarchy of needs triangle.

    • MDT working- realizing the needs of the family, are they ready for SLT? Signpost to other services and liaise with others.

    • ALD- health inequalities and access to healthcare. Hospital environment not suitable for them. Impact on them with the services they are receiving. Attending screenings.

    • Communication passports, social stories, sharing the information to increase access to healthcare.

The 6 Priorities of Public Health in Wales

  1. Influencing the wider determinants of health.

  2. Promoting mental health and social well-being.

  3. Promoting healthy behaviours.

  4. Supporting the development of a sustainable health and care system focused on prevention and early intervention. SLT- focusing on prevention- better the outcomes.

  5. Delivering excellent public health services to protect public health outcomes.

  6. Tackling the public health effects of climate change.

    • Reference: Public Health Wales, 2023.