Psyc 314: health Psychology

Public health:

The field concerned with protecting, maintaining, and improving health through organized effort in the community. Also important to health psychology

Why did a high death rate in aboriginal populations increase when European settlers came to Canada?

The native populations had never been exposed to these new micro-organisms, and thus lacked the natural immunity that our bodies develop after lengthy exposure to most diseases. Second, their immune functions were likely limited by a low degree of genetic variation among these people. Aboriginal and native communities across North America were severely affected by the introduction of new infectious diseases from Europe, experiencing famine, social unrest, and population depletion that had lasting effects on subsequent generations. This was made worse by the unhealthy living conditions of many early reserves and settlements. Over time, resistance to disease was lowered further by malnutrition resulting from a loss of traditional food supplies. This is an example of how culture can play an important role in our health.

Epidemiology:

The scientific study of the distribution and frequency of disease and injury. Researchers in this field determine the occurrence of illness in a given population and organize these data in terms of when the disease or injury occurred, where, and to which age, gender, and racial or cultural group.

Epidemic vs. pandemic:

Epidemic is usually a situation in which the incidence, generally of an infectious disease, has increased rapidly. Pandemic is an epidemic that has increased to international or worldwide proportions.

Research Methods: Experimental

Experimental: random; double blind; placebo; cause-effect

Research methods: study designs

Retrospective, prospective, cross-sectional, developmental, longitudinal, cohort, single-subject, twin and adoption studies

Current perspectives:

The biopsychosocial perspective Lifespan and Gender perspectives

Personality and illness:

Personality refers to a person's cognitive, affective, or behavioral tendencies that are fairly stable across time and situations Researchers have found evidence linking personality traits and health: -Low levels of conscientiousness measured in childhood or adulthood are more likely to die at earlier ages, such as from cardiovascular diseases than individuals with high levels of conscientiousness. -high levels of positive emotions, such as happiness or enthusiasm, tend to live longer than individuals with low levels of these emotions -high levels of anxiety, depression, hostility, or pessimism are at risk for dying earlier and developing a variety of illnesses, particularly heart disease than low levels of these traits. These are often a reaction to an individual's experience with stress. The link with personality and illness is not a one way street and illness can affect one's emotional adjustment and outlook too. People who are ill and overcome their negative thoughts and feelings may speed their recovery

Dietary technicians:

Plan menus and supervise the production of food

Rene Descartes:

Probably had the greatest influence on scientific thought of any philosopher in history Like the Greeks, he regarded the mind and body as separate entities, but he introduced three important innovations: first, he conceived of the body as a machine and described the mechanics of how action and sensation occurred; second, he proposed that the mind and body (although separate) communicate through the pineal gland, an organ in the brain; third, he believed that animals have no soul and that the soul in humans leaves the body at death (this belief made dissection an acceptable method of study).

To prevent and treat illness: (Health psychology)

Psychological principles have been applied effectively to preventing illness, such as reducing high blood pressure. For people who become seriously ill, psychologists with clinical training can help them adjust to their current condition, rehabilitation program, and future prospects.

How influential are lifestyle factors to health?

Researchers studied this question by surveying nearly 7,000 adults who ranged in age from 20-over 75, asking them two sets of questions. One set asked about the health of these people over the previous 12 months, and the second set asked them about seven aspects of their lifestyle. When the researchers compared the data for the people in different age groups, they found that at each age health was typically better as the number of healthful practices increased: in fact, the health of those who "reported following all seven good health practices was consistently about the same as those 30 years younger who followed few or none of these practices". These findings suggest that people's practicing of healthful behaviors can reduce their risk of illness and early death substantially

Behavioral methods:

Apply mainly pinciples of operant and classical conditioning to change behavior

Which two fields emerged in the 1970s to study the role of psychology in illness?

Behavioral medicine and health psychology

Ancient Greece and Rome: physiology, disease processes, and the mind:

Between 500 and 300 BCE, the philosophers of Greece produced the earliest written ideas about physiology, disease processes, and the mind. Hippocrates & the humoral theory Greek philosophers (especially Plato) were among the first to propose that the mind and the body are separate entities. The mind was considered to have little or no relationship to the body and its state of health. This remained the dominant view of writers and philosophers for more than a thousand years Galen

How do the roles of different biopsychosocial systems change as we develop?

Biological systems change in many ways: -Virtually all systems of the body grow in size, strength, and efficiency during childhood and decline in old age. The decline may be seen in the slowing down that older people notice in their physical abilities. They may have less stamina because the heart and lungs function less efficiently and the muscles are weaker. They also recover from illness and injury more slowly. -Early influences on biological systems may have major effects many years later. i.e. childhood stressful life experiences may increase the risk of developing several adult diseases many years later by altering the ways the body responds to stress.

Pediatrics vs. Geriatrics:

Branches of medicine that deal with the health and illness of children and the elderly, respectively

How does society affect the health of individuals?

By promoting certain values of our culture, such as that being fit and healthy is good. The mass media often reflect these values by setting good examples. The media also has the power to encourage unhealthful behavior.

What findings helped reveal that the link between the mind and the body is more direct and pervasive than was previously thought?

By the 1970s, physiological psychologists had clearly shown that psychologiacl events-particularly emotions-influence bodily functions, such as blood pressure and researchers had demonstrated that people can learn to control various physiological systems if they are given feedback as to what the systems are doing.

Lifespan perspective:

Characteristics of a person are considered with respect to their prior development, current level, and likely development in the future. Health and illness characteristics vary with development, for instance, the kinds of illnesses people have tend to change with age

Risk factors:

Characteristics of conditions that are associated with the development of a disease or injury. Some are biological, such as inheriting certain genes, others are behavioral, such as smoking/unhealthy diet/not exercising etc.. A risk factor is merely associated with a health problem and does not necessarily cause it

How do children's psychological systems change over time?

Children's knowledge and ability to think are limited during the preschool years but grow rapidly during later childhood (cognitive systems) Before children can assume responsibility for their health, they need to understand the ways in which their behavior affects it; As children get older and their cognitive skills improve, they are better able to understand the implications of their own illness when they are sick and the rationales for behaviors that promote their health and safety.

What are the main health problems and causes of death in Canada today?

Chronic diseases, that is, degenerative illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke that develop or persist over a long period of time. Worldwide, chronic illnesses now account for more than half of all deaths.

Community:

Consists of individuals who live fairly near one another, such as in the same town or country, and organizations, such as government.

Problems in the contemporary health care system:

Countries worldwide have been facing escalating costs in health care (i.e. In Canada, total health costs increased from 8.8% to 11.4% of GDP between 2000-2010 alone). Similar trends are found in Europe and other developed nations. In the U.S., health related costs have increased at a particularly alarming rate. This means, new approaches for improving people's health is needed. The biomedical model is limited in its ability to treat chronic illnesses. One reason is because the person as a unique individual is not factored into the biomedical model. Although detection occurs earlier today partly because diagnostic methods have improved, another explanation is that people have changed: individuals are more aware of signs/symptoms of illness and more motivated to take care of their health and more capable of affording visits to physicians

The Renaissance: physiology, disease processes, and the mind:

During this period in history (fourteenth and fifteenth centuries), Europe saw a rebirth of inquiry, culture, and politics Scholars became more "human-centred" than "God-centred" in their search for truth and believed that truth could be seen with differing perspectives Once the scientific revolution began after 1600, these ideas set the stage for important changes in philosophy

Viewpoints from history:

Early cultures: Magic, supernatural Ancient Greece and Rome: Mind-Body separation Middle Ages: Church supremacy, illness and sin, Body-Mind interaction Renaissance: human centered, mechanistic view, dissection, surgery, microscope... XIX and XX Centuries: The biomedical model

How are emotions related to health and illness?

Emotions relate to health and illness in many ways. For instance, people whose emotions are relatively positive are less disease-prone and more likely to take good care of their health and recover quickly from an illness than are people whose emotions are relatively negative. Emotions can also be important in people's decisions about seeking treatment (i.e. being fearful of doctors or dentists).

Related fields to health psychology:

Epidemiology Public Health Sociology

Medical Anthropology:

Examines differences in health and health care across cultures (i.e. how do the nature and definition of illness vary across different cultures?)

Health Policy:

Examines the decisions, plans, and actions taken by governments and other organizations, such as insurance companies and employers, regarding health care and health-related behavior. i.e. decisions based on health policy findings might, for example, require private insurance companies to pay for smoking cessation treatment or encourage a tax increase on tobacco products.

Health Economics:

Examines the supply and demand for health resources, the expenditures related to health care, and the costs and benefits of health care. i.e. a health economics study found that for smoking-related illnesses, interventions to stop smoking can achieve the same benefits as medical or surgical treatment in terms of the length and quality of life at 10% or less of the cost.

How can professionals use behavioral and cognitive methods to promote and maintain people's health and to prevent and treat illness?

Examples: Using behavioral methods, psychologists reduced work related injuries at worksites with high accident rates by applying a program of reinforcement for safety behaviors. Using cognitive methods with patients suffering from chronic back pain, psychologists reduced their degree of pain, depression, and disability by providing training in ways to relax and think differently about the pain.

Biopyschosocial model:

Expands the biomedical view by adding to biological factors connections to psychological and social factors Proposes that all three factors affect and are affected by the person's health and it has been a key part of the foundation of health psychology

How do people's social relationships and systems change with development?

For one thing, there are some usual progressions: children usually progress through levels of education, enter a career in adulthood, become parents and grandparents, and retire in old age Changes in social relationships also relate to health and illness: children's health is largely the responsibility of adult caregivers-parents and teachers. During the teenage years, adolescents take on more and more of these responsibilities. Parents and teachers may still be important, but age-mates in the community have a powerful influence.

Freud and Psychoanalytic theory:

Formalized trace back to the beginning theories of psychology and medicine being connected proposition that physical symptoms were converted from unconscious and emotional conflicts. this condition he called conversion hysteria. The need to understand such conditions led to the development of psychosomatic medicine which is the first field dedicated to studying the interplay between emotional life and bodily processes.

Psychosomatic medicine:

Formed in the 1930s and began publishing the journal psychosomatic medicine with founders mainly trained in medicine and leaders including psychoanalysts and psychiatrists The term psychosomatic means that both the mind and body are involved in generating real symptoms It is currently a broader field concerned with interrelationships among psychological and social factors, biological and physiological functions, and the development and course of illness.

Behavioral medicine:

Has two defining characteristics: 1. its mebership is interdisciplinary, coming from a wide variety of fields, including psychology, sociology, and various areas of medicine 2. it grew out of the perspective in psychology called behaviorism, which proposed that people's behavior results from two types of learning: classical conditioning and operant conditioning -conditioning methods have shown a good deal of success as therapeutic approaches in helping modify problem behaviors and emotions

Psychology's role in health:

Health Care system flaws: -rising healthcare costs and burden on taxpayers Individual Variation: -lifestyle factors -risk factors -personality and illness Health Care models: -psychosomatic medicine. psychoanalysis; psychiatrists -behavioural medicine. conditioning; interdisciplinary; biofeedback -health psychology. behaviours; perception; cognition; lifestyles

Health and psychology across cultures:

-New York and Birmingham, England infant mortality rates in the year 1900 are comparable to those in developing countries now and are due to primarily the same reasons: diarrheal disease and malnutrition, respiratory infections, and whooping cough. -every country's present culture is different from each other's and from the culture it had 200 years ago.

Aaron Antonovsky

-medical sociologist -suggested that we consider the concepts of wellness and illness as ends of a continuum, nothing that "we are all terminal cases. And we all are, so long as there is a breath of life in us, in some measure healthy"

Nurses:

-registered nurses and licensed practical nurses -RNs work in hospitals, nursing homes, community health clinics, physician's offices, and industrial settings; they assess and record patient's symptoms and progress, conduct tests, administer medications, assist in rehabilitation, provide instructions for self-treatment, and instruct patients and their families in ways to improve or maintain their health AND they often deal with mental and emotional aspects of the patient as well -LPNs work in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, physician's offices, and patient's homes; they perform nursing activities that require less training than those performed by RNs.

Biopsychosocial perspective:

1. Biological factors 2. Psychological factors 3. Social factors 4. Systems The world: social systems (i.e. society, community, family) -> <- the person: psychological systems (experience and behavior) (i.e. cognition, emotion, motivation); biological systems (genetics and physiology) (i.e. organs, tissues, cells) The person consists of biological and psychological systems which interrelate and each of the systems includes component systems. The person interrelates with the social systems of his or her world. Each system can affect, and be affected by, any of the other systems.

What are four goals of health psychology?

1. To promote and maintain health. 2. To prevent and treat illness. 3. To identify causes and diagnostic correlates of health, illness, and related dysfunction. 4. To analyze/improve health care systems and health policy.

To analyze and improve health care systems and health policy (Health psychology):

Health psychologists contribute to this goal by studying and advising medical professionals on ways in which characteristics or functions of hospitals, nursing homes, medical personnel, and medical costs affect patients and their likelihood of following medical advice

What are some new and important findings and ways to promote people's health and recovery from illness researchers have discovered using the biopsychosocial model as a guide?

1. Using psychological methods to reduce anxiety of patients who are awaiting surgery enables them to recover more quickly and leave the hospital sooner. 2. Programs that teach safer sex practices have dramatically reduced risky sexual behavior and the spread of HIV infection. 3. People who have a high degree of social support from family and friends are healthier and live longer than people with little support. 4. Stress impairs the functioning of the immune system. 5. Applying psychological and education programs for heart disease patients reduces their feelings of stress and enables them to live longer. 6. Biofeedback and other psychological techniques can reduce the pain of people who suffer from chronic, severe headaches.

Lifestyle and illness:

A lifestyle is an everyday pattern of behavior, such as washing, preparing, and eating healthy foods Changes in people's lifestyles can greatly reduce chronic illnesses

Cognition:

A mental activity that encompasses perceiving, learning, remembering, thinking, interpreting, believing, and problem solving.

Medical Sociology:

A subfield that studies a wide range of issues related to health, including the impact of social relationships on the distribution of illness, social reactions to illness, socioeconomic factors of health care use, and the way hospital services and medical practices are organized

Emotion:

A subjective feeling that affects, and is affected by, our thoughts, behavior, and physiology. Positive and negative

Biological concept of systems:

A system is a dynamic entity with components that are continuously interrelated, such as by exchanging energy, substances, and information. Your body qualifies as a system, and it includes various other systems such as the immune and nervous systems, and those consists of various other systems such as tissues and cells. Your family is a system, and your community, and society. There are various levels within each system.

To identify the causes and diagnostic correlates of health, illness, and related dysfunction (Health psychology):

Health psychologists study the causes of disease, the research we saw earlier showing the importance of personality factors in the development of illness is an example of the work toward this goal. Psychologists also study physiological and perceptual processes, which affect people's experience of physical symptoms.

To promote and maintain health (Health psychology):

Health psychologists study why people behave unhealthily and as a result may help in the design of health education programs and media campaigns to encourage healthful lifestyles

Galen:

Highly respected physician and writer of the second century CE who was born in Greece and practised in Rome. Although he believed generally in the humoral theory and the mind/body split, he made many innovations. He dissected animals, and made important discoveries about the brain, circulatory system, and kidneys. From his work, he became aware that illnesses can be localized, with pathology in specific parts of the body and that different diseases have different effects. His ideas became widely accepted

What do epidemiologists play a pivotal role in?

Identifying risk factors for disease and health disparities, either within a population (i.e. Canada) or across nations (i.e. industrialized countries) and this information can tell us which groups are at particularly high or low risk for health problems.

The Middle Ages: physiology, disease processes, and the mind:

After the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century CE, much of the Western world was in disarray. The advancement of knowledge and culture slowed sharply in Europe and remained stunted during the Middle Ages, which lasted almost a thousand years. The inflluence of the Church in slowing the development of medical knowledge during the Middle Ages was enormous. The Church argued against scientific investigation of the body and dissection which hindered the development of anatomy and medicine. This prohibition extended to the dissection of animals, because they were argued to have souls to. the belief in demons became strong again (because the cause of illness took on pronounced religious overtones); sickness was viewed as God's punishment for evil behavior and the practice of medicine became increasingly involved with the Church and priests became increasingly involved in treating the ill (often including torture of the body to drive out evil spirits).

The gender perspective:

Also adds an important dimension to the biopsychosocial perspective in our effort to understand how people deal with issues of health and illness. Males and females differ in their biological functioning, and even for the same illness males and females may differ in the factors that affect it, its main symptoms, and the course of the disease over time.

William Alcott

An American advocate of moderation in diet and sexual behavior.

Trephination:

An ancient operation in which a stone instrument was used to cut away a circular section of the skull, perhaps to treat abnormal behavior.

Biomedical model:

An approach for conceptualizing health and illness that proposes all diseases/physical disorders can be explained by disturbances in physiological process, which result from injury, biochemical imbalances, bacterial or viral infection, etc.. Assumes that disease is an affliction of the body and is separate from the psychological and social processes of the mind. Still represents the dominant view today and became widely accepted during the 19th and 20th centuries Has been very useful in guiding researchers to conquer infectious diseases through the development of vaccination as well as bacterial infection illnesses through the development of antibiotics this model still needs improvement, however

Biofeedback:

An important therapeutic technique where a person's physiological processes, such as blood pressure, are monitored by the person so that he/she can gain voluntary control over them. This process involves operant conditioning as the feedback serves as positive reinforcement. Is useful in treating a variety of health problems, including headaches.

Why do communities differ in the extent their members practice health-related behaviors?

There are many reasons for these differences. For instance, a community's environmental characteristics seem to influence resident's physical activity and diets. Residents tend to be more physically active and have healthier diets in communities that have parks, are safe, and have stores and restaurants with a large selection of high-quality fruits, vegetables, and low-fat products. But neighbourhoods can also be threatening, crowded, stressful, and these characteristics may affect resident's chances of developing health problems. Policies intended to alter these aspects of the places where we live can be important in preventing chronic disease and limiting its effects.

What is included in the term biological factors?

This term includes the genetic materials and processes by which we inherit characteristics from our parents It also includes the function and structure of the person's physiology.

Similarities and differences between psychosomatic medicine, behavioral medicine, and health psychology:

In a sense they are extremely similar: they have very similar goals, study similar topics, and share the same knowledge They are separate mainly in the organizational sense and many professionals are members of all three organizations. Main distinctions: degree they focus on specific topics, specific disciplines and professions involved -psychosomatic medicine includes physicians and behavioral scientists but continues to be closely tied to medical disciplines, including the application of psychiatry to understanding and treating physical illness. -behavioral medicine is also an interdisciplinary field, and tends to focus on interventions that promote healthy lifestyles without using drugs or surgery. -healthy psychology is based in psychology and draws heavily on other psychology subfields-clinical, social, developmental, experimental, and physiological-to identify and alter lifestyle and emotional processes that lead to illness, and to improve functioning and recovery for people who are sick. All three fields share the view that health and illness result from the interplay of biological, psychological, and social forces.

Where do the closest/most continuous social relationships occur for most people?

In the family, which can include nonrelatives who live together and share a strong emotional bond; as young people grow and develop, the family has an especially strong influence (i.e. children learn many health-related behaviors and ideas from their parents, brothers, and sisters)

Early cultures views on physiology, disease processes, and the mind:

It appears that the best-educated people thousands of years ago believed physical and mental illness were caused by mystical forces. Researchers believe this because they found ancient skulls in several areas of the world with coin-size circular holes in them that could not have been battle wounds. These holes were probably made with sharp stone stools in a procedure called trephination. This procedure was done presumably for superstitious reasons, for instance, to allow illness-causing demons to leave the head. This is only speculation.

St. Thomas Aquinas:

Italian philosopher in thirteenth century who rejected the view that the mind and body are separate and saw them as interrelated; although his position did not have as great an impact as others had, it renewed interest in the issue (which was not very discussed in the Middle Ages) and influenced later philosophers.

Who is an important founder of health psychology?

Joseph Matarazzo the first president of the APA's division on Health psychology and one of the early founders of the field outlined four goals of health psychology (1982)

Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries: physiology, disease processes, and the mind:

Knowledge in science and medicine grew quickly, helped greatly by improvements in the microscope and the use of dissection in autopsies. Once scientists learned the basics of how the body functioned and discovered that micro-organisms cause certain diseases, they rejected the humoral theory of illness and proposed new theories. The field of surgery flourished after antiseptic techniques and anaesthesia were introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. Before then, hospitals were considered a place more likely to spread diseases than to cure them. Over time, the reputation of physicians and hospitals began to improve and people's trust in the ability of doctors to heal increased

What are some psychological and social factors that play into an individual's health and wellbeing?

Lifestyle Personality

Research methods: genetic studies

Linking specific genes with diseases, epigenetic effects

Cultural Perspectives:

Socio-cultural differences in health Socio-cultural differences in health and behavior

Mind/body problem:

Today, the body and the mind are separate concepts: the body refers to our physical being, including our skin, muscles, bones, heart, and brain the mind refers to an abstract process that includes our thoughts, perceptions, and feelings Although we can separate the mind and body conceptually, an important issue known as the mind/body problem is whether they function independently, the question of their relationship

Physical therapists:

Trained and licensed individuals who help people with muscle, nerve, joint, or bone diseases to overcome their disabilities as much as possible. To plan treatment, they review the patient's records and perform tests or measurements of muscle strength, motor coordination, endurance, and range of motion of the injured body part.

Midwives:

Trained to provide care to women and their babies during the pre- and post-natal period. Undergrad in midwifery and a period of supervised practical training is required.

"The Person" in health and illness:

Some people appear to get illnesses more frequently than others and take longer to get well. This can be a result of biomedical factors, such as variations in physiological processes and exposure to harmful micro-organisms HOWEVER psychological and social factors also play a role.

How is medicine related to health psychology?

Medicine provides an essential foundation and connection for health psychology. To understand how psychological factors can influence health and illness and how illness influences psychological outcomes like physical symptoms and emotional adjustment, we must have a basic understanding of the body's healthy and unhealthy functioning. This understanding enables health psychologists to make use of findings from biomedical research, see new points of connection between behavior and health, and help improve medical care. In many cases, the interventions health psychologists create are actually delivered by physicians and nurses during medical care, so it is not only the patient's behavior that is the focus of change but the health care provider's behavior as well. To accomplish this, health psychologists need to develop a working knowledge of medical fields and effective professional relationships with health care providers.

How does motivation interact with health and illness?

Motivation, or lack there of, is the reason people may work on their health or not. i.e. a parent may quit smoking because their child pleads with them and they are motivated to do what their child wants. Or, a person may begin an exercise program because they are motivated to look better.

Hippocrates:

Often called the "father of medicine" proposed humoral theory of illness; according to his theory, the body contains four fluids called humours and when the mixture is faulty disease occurs. When the mixture of these humours is harmonious we are in a state of health recommended eating a good diet and avoiding excesses to help achieve humoral balance

Why don't people do what's good for them, behaviorally?

One reason is that less-healthful behaviors often bring immediate pleasure and long range negative consequences may seem remote in time and likelihood. Evidence suggests that some pleasurable activities do benefit health. Another reason may be social pressures. Or, becoming physically addicted or psychologically dependent on negative behaviors. Lastly, ignorance regarding the danger of certain unhealthful behaviors may be a cause because these individuals are unaware of the harm they are causing on their bodies.

behavior modification techniques:

Use principles of learning and cognition to understand and change people's behavior...there are behavioral methods and cognitive methods

Physician assistants and nurse practitioners:

Usually work closely with medical doctors, performing routine tasks that physicians ordinarily did in the past, such as examining patients with symptoms that do not appear serious and explaining treatment details. Training involves a bachelor's degree plus completion of a master's degree in nursing for nurse practitioners; licensure is required.

What are the qualifications for becoming a health psychologist?

Varies across countries Usually include doctoral degree in psychology with concentrated training in various aspects of health, illness, and medical care.

Where did the decreases of infectious diseases result primarily from?

We might be inclined to believe that it resulted from advances in medical treatment given that some vaccines were developed very early on. Although such medical advances and global health initiatives were important, the decline in deaths related to infectious diseases. began before effective vaccines and medications were introduced. This was the case for most of the major diseases discussed, including tuberculosis, diptheria, measles, and influenza. It appears that the decline resulted chiefly from preventative measures such as improved personal hygiene, greater resistance to diseases (owing to better nutrition), and public health innovations, such as building water purification and sewage treatment facilities. Fewer deaths occurred from infectious diseases because fewer people contracted them.

Illness Today and in the Past:

XVIII and XIX Centuries: ->infectious disease XX and XXI Centuries: ->chronic diseases, injury

Can individuals affect society's values?

Yes, by writing letters to the mass media and lawmakers, selecting which television shows and movies to watch, and buying healthful products, for example.

Are the main causes of death in childhood and adolescence different from those in adulthood?

Yes; In Canada, for example, the leading cause of death in children and adolescents by far is not an illness, but accidental injury. In Canada ages 1-24, about 35% of deaths result from accidents. The next four most frequent causes of death in this age group are homicide, suicide, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. All five of those causes of death are far more common among 15-24 year olds than for younger ages. Clearly, the role of disease in death differs greatly at different points in the lifespan.

How do cognitive factors affect health and illness?

You may use cognitive reasoning to justify unhealthy behavior or the opposite, for example.

Classical conditioning:

a conditioned stimulus gains the ability to elicit a response through association with an unconditioned stimulus that already elicits that response

Illness/wellness continuum

a model that illustrates the full range of health between the extremes of illness and wellness

What is health?

a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity defined by the WHO, world health organization

infectious disease:

acute illnesses caused by harmful matter or micro-organisms such as bacteria or viruses in the body. in much of the world they continue to be a main cause of death. specifically, in lower income/developing countries i.e. tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases, and HIV/AIDS are among the leading causes of death in developing countries.

Operant conditioning:

behavior is changed because of its consequences: reinforcement strengthens it and punishment suppresses it

Health psychology:

behaviorism also served as an important foundation a field that is principally within the discipline of psychology

What are the different psychological factors that involve behavior and mental processes?

cognition emotion motivation

Research methods: quasi-experimental

convenience samples; correlational

During the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, people in North America mainly suffered and died from two types of illness:

dietary and infectious

What help do health psychologists provide?

direct: -patient's psychological adjustment to and management of health problems. -if they have clinical training they can provide therapy for emotional and social adjustment problems that being ill or disabled can produce (i.e. reducing the patient's feelings of depression) -can help people make difficult changes in behavioral risk factors and managing health problems (such as in teaching them psychological ways to control pain, i.e. biofeedback) indirect: -research, which provides information about lifestyle and personality factors in illness and injury -application of research to design programs which help people practice better and more healthy lifestyles -educating health professionals toward a fuller understanding of the psychosocial needs of patients

Cognitive methods:

geared toward changing people's feelings and thought processes, such as by helping individuals identify and alter problematic beliefs (most cognitive methods were developed after the mid 60s).

Where do most health psychologists work?

hospitals, clinics, and academic departments of colleges and universities and in these positions, they either provide direct help to patients or give indirect help through research, teaching, and consulting

What terms do epidemiologists use to describe aspects of their findings?

mortality, morbidity, prevalence, incidence, epidemic, and pandemic. Some of these terms are used with the word rate, which adds relativity to the meaning.

Research methods: correlational

relationship between variables

dietary disease:

results from malnutrition i.e. beriberi characterized by anemia, paralysis and wasting away and caused by lack of vitamin b.

From the colonial days through the 18th and 19th centuries, early settlers to Canada experienced periodic epidemics of many infectious diseases including:

smallpox, cholera, diptheria measles, and influenza. Most, if not all, of these infectious diseases did not exist in North America before Eruopean settlers arrived-the settlers brought the diseases with them-and the death toll among Aboriginal communities skyrocketed.

What are other fields related to health psychology?

sociology and anthropology: -sociology focuses on human social life; it examines groups or communities of people and evaluates the impact of various social factors, such as the mass media, population growth, epidemics, and institutions (subfield: medical sociology) -anthropology includes the study of human cultures (subfield: medical anthropology) Without the knowledge of sociology and anthropology, health psychologists would have a very narrow view because it gives them a broad social and cultural view of medical issues and allows us to consider different ways to interpret and treat illness. health economics and health policy too

Infectious diseases in the nineteenth century:

still the greatest threat to the health of Canada's early settlers. Montreal experienced a smallpox epidemic in 1885 that resulted in nearly 20,000 cases and up to 6,000 deaths. This epidemic was so severe that it led to the formation of Quebec's provincial public health act and board of health in 1887, while Ontario established the first health laboratory in North America in 1890. In some parts of the country, the Hudson's Bay Company served as a makeshift public health agency into the early nineteenth century. New diseases had also emerged, the worst of which was tuberculosis, or "consumption" as it was often called. In 1867, at the time of Confederation, tuberculosis was the greatest cause of death in Canada. By the end of the nineteenth century, deaths from infectious diseases begin to decrease sharply throughout North America. For instance, the death rate from tuberculosis declined by about 60% around the turn of the century.

What is a good example of the way illness patterns have changed in developed nations?

the history of diseases in Canada.

motivation:

the process within individuals that gets them to start some activity, choose its direction, and persist in it.

Twentieth century: illness

witnessed great changes in the patterns of illness afflicting Canadians. At the end of WW1, 50% of all deaths had been caused by infectious diseases like influenza. Following the war, the proportion of deaths due to infection fell dramatically, replaced by increasing deaths from chronic illnesses like heart disease and cancer. In a short span of time, average life expectancy in Canada increased considerably. For example