Challenge Your Knowledge

Introduction to Health Psychology

• Health Psychology focuses on the role of psychological factors in the cause, progression, and consequences of health and illness.
• The two main aims of Health Psychology are to understand, explain, develop, and test theory, and to put theory into practice by promoting healthy behavior and preventing illness.
• Health Psychologists work in hospitals, community health settings, research units, local authorities, public health departments, and universities, and may work with various other professionals.
• To become a Health Psychologist, one needs to become a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society and complete a BPS accredited Masters in Health Psychology or a BPS accredited Doctorate in Health Psychology.
• Health Psychologists need to be registered with the Health and Care Professional Council (HCPC) to use the title.
• Work experience in healthcare professions, research, and patient contact is important for aspiring Health Psychologists.
• The WHO definition of health is a complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
• Health and illness exist on a continuum with direct and indirect pathways between them.
• The biomedical model is responsible for the advancements in medicine but does not consider the role of the person in illness and does not address the WHO definition of health.
• Health Psychology looks at health and illness from the biopsychosocial perspective.
• Behavior is related to longevity and mortality, and the main causes of death in affluent societies are behavior-related.
• Health behaviors can be well or wellness behavior, symptom-based behavior or illness behavior, and sick role behavior, and can be health-impairing or health-protective. Health Locus of Control is the degree to which people believe that their health is controlled by internal or external factors and is strongly associated with whether people change their behavior or not.