Health Psychology Lecture 1 PDF

Introducing Health Psychology  What is health: – A state of complete physical, mental, and social well being What is health psychology – Applying psychological principles and research to the prevention of illnesses and enhancement of health  Theories of Health –Biomedical m...

Introducing Health Psychology  What is health: – A state of complete physical, mental, and social well being What is health psychology – Applying psychological principles and research to the prevention of illnesses and enhancement of health  Theories of Health –Biomedical model: The traditional western model states that exposure to pathogens cause illnesses. Health is the absence of disease –Psychosomatic Theory: Psychiatric model focused on illnesses believed to be associated with psychiatric issues. Health is the absence of underlying psychopathology –Biopsychosocial Model: Biological, psychological, and social factors are all involved in the development, course, and outcome of disease. This model is inclusive of all factors. Health is as defined by WHO  Sheldon Cohen’s research on colds – Participants receive a cold virus and then quarantined Not all participants develop a cold Those who do develop a cold are more likely to have had a stressful experience, experience fewer positive emotions, be less sociable, have less diverse social networks than who do not develop a cold  Changing Pattern of Disease and Death Leading cause of death in the 1900s Infectious diseases Leading cause of death in the 2000s – Chronic diseases Leading cause of death 2020 – Infectious disease Causes of Death - 1900 Causes of Death - 2017  By October 2020, COVID-19 had become the third leading cause of death overall following after heart disease and cancer. Post holiday surges in November and December moved COVID-19 to the leading cause of death  Chronic disease - a long lasting, or recurrent, disease – Examples - heart disease, cancer, stroke – Currently the leading cause of mortality in the US Over 2 million people die from chronic diseases each year in the US  In 1900, life expectancy was 47.3 years In 2017, life expectancy was 78.7 years Average life expectancy for women 81 years Average life expectancy for men 78 years Average life expectancy for Black People 75 years Average life expectancy for White People 78 years Average life expectancy for Latinx People 81 years  White People – West Virginia 74.8 – DC 87.5 Black People – DC 72.5* – Georgia 77.5* Hispanic People – New Mexico Hispanic 78.6* – DC 87.8* – *Among states with a representative percentage population  Factors that contributed to increase in life expectancy – #1 factor - decrease in infant mortality – Other factors - vaccinations, safer drinking water, better nutrition  Factors Related to Mortality – Age Older people tend to die Chronic diseases are leading cause of death for those 45-64 years old – Ethnicity Health disparities – Income Health disparities – Education Health disparities  What are health disparities – PREVENTABLE differences in the rates of diseases and other factors that decrease opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experience by socially disadvantaged populations  What is being done to control for health disparities – Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act: federal law to reduce the number of uninsured people in the US. Improves health among disadvantaged populations Reduces overall health care costs Forces insurance companies to provide adequate coverage  Previous editions of the text provided this as an explanation of how ethnicity relates to mortality: – Leading causes of death vary among ethnicities #1 cause of death for European Americans, Hispanic Americans, and African Americans is heart disease #1 cause of death for Asian Americans is cancer  The prevalence of a given disease within a given culture may have something to do with culture (e.g., heart disease less prevalent among Asian cultures may be related to dietary differences). More often due to health disparities – Studies controlling for SES – Studies of different cultures in native environments  How poverty relates to mortality: – Limited access to health insurance and medical care – Poor mothers likely to have low-birth weight babies and deliver babies who have had prenatal child abuse, increasing infant mortality rates  How education relates to mortality: – Those who attend college have lower death rates than those who have not – Higher educated people report Better jobs, higher incomes, better access to health care, fewer daily health symptoms, less stress, healthier habits  In the US, medical costs have increased faster than inflation – People who have chronic diseases tend to require expensive and extensive medical treatments contribute – The largest contributor to the increase in medical costs are administrative costs. The increase in administrative costs have outpaced technology and physician reimbursements since the 1980s  Psychology and Health How did psychology become involved in health care? – Psychology is the scientific study of people’s behaviors  Lifestyle Factors – Chronic diseases Diet Exercise Preventative medical care – COVID-19 Masking Social distancing Limiting exposure risks  Health Psychology – Branch of psychology that concerns individual behaviors and lifestyles affecting a person’s physical health – Recognized by the APA as a sub-field of psychology in 1978  A similar discipline to health psychology is behavioral medicine Concerned with the integration of biomedical science with behavioral sciences Developed as a field in 1977  What training do health psychologists receive? – Graduate training in psychology – Special courses in health  What jobs can health psychologists do? – Health research, in university or government agency settings – Hospitals or clinics – Allied health profession fields