What is Health

Psychology?

Adrian J. Bravo, PhD

Department of Psychological Sciences
1
William & Mary
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Overview
 Health Trends

 Defining Health

 Models of Health

 Health Measurement
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Changes in Cause of Death

 Leading cause of death in the 1900s

 Infectious diseases

 Leading cause of death in the 2000s

 Chronic diseases
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Causes of Death

 
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Changes in Life Expectancy
 In 1900, life expectancy was 47.3 years
 In 2018, life expectancy was 78.7 years
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What is Health?

 Traditional view of health is the

biomedical model

 A disease results from exposure to a pathogen

 Views health as the absence of disease

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What is Health?
 Sheldon Cohen’s research on colds (1986-
1989)
 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
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What is Health?
 World Health Organization (1948)
 Not merely the absence of disease

 Physical, mental, and social well-being

 Wellness model
 Spirituality

 Quality of life
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Facets of Well-Being
 W&M’s Eight Dimensions of Wellness
 https://www.wm.edu/offices/wellness/about/eig
ht-dimensions/index.php
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The Rise of 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
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The Rise of Health Psychology
 Acute vs. chronic illness

 Advances in technology

 Advances in treatment research

 Expanded health care services

 Huge disparities in healthcare
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Topics in Health Psychology
 Etiology of illness and health
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Topics in Health Psychology
 Health promotion and maintenance
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Topics in Health Psychology
 Prevention and treatment of illness
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Topics in Health Psychology
 Health care system and health policy
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The Profession of Health
Psychology
 What training do health psychologists
receive?
 Graduate training in psychology

 Special courses in health

 Precision Medicine
 Hospital Settings as an example
17 Health Psychologists
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Overview
 Health Trends

 Defining Health

 Models of Health

 Health Measurement
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Biomedical Model
 A disease results from exposure to pathogen

 Views health as the absence of disease

 Aberrant bodily processes

 Neurochemical imbalances

 Neurological abnormality
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Biopsychosocial Model

 Emotions can contribute to illness

 Biological, psychological, and social factors

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Biopsychosocial Model
22 Social Ecological Model
23 New APA Guidelines

 Individual

 Family/community

 Health systems

 Health policy
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Practice: Conceptualizing
Health
 Case Example: Miguel
 22 year old, bilingual, Latino male

 Two liver transplants by age 10, ongoing

complications (particularly with medication
interactions and dependence)
 Diagnosed with anxiety and depression
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Implications of Social
Ecological Model
 Broader, more inclusive assessment tools

 Collaboration among health professionals

 Intervention can occur at any level

Biological cause Biological intervention

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Areas for Growth
 Focus on interconnectedness of different
levels of analysis
 Etiology
 Treatment

 More comprehensive research

 Longitudinal
 Multiple methods
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Areas for Growth

 Improved cross-talk between research and

policy/practice

 More clinical practicum experiences

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How do we measure health?

 SF-36 Health Survey

 Overall physical and mental health

 “general” health measure

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