Part 1: Health Psychology: An introduction
p. 3-12, 16-22.
What do we mean by health?
- the world health is derived from Old High German and Anglo-Saxon words
meaning whole, hale and holy
- links exist between health, wholeness, holiness, hygiene, cleanliness,
sanitariness, sanity, goodness and godliness
- emphasis on health as wholeness and naturalness was present in ancient
China and classical Greece where health was seen as a state of harmony,
balance or equilibrium with nature
- there are also associations with such words as disease, disorder, illness,
insanity, evil etc.
- Galen (early Roman physician) followed the Hippocratic tradition in
believing that hygieia (health) or euexia (soundness) occur when there is a
balance between the four humours of the body: black bile, yellow bile,
phlegm and blood
o he believed that the body’s ‘constitution’, ‘temperament’ or ‘state’
could be put out of equilibrium by excessive heat, cold, dryness or
wetness
o such imbalances might be caused by fatigue, insomnia, distress,
anxiety or eating the wrong quality or quantity of food
o this theory was closely related to the 4 elements: earth, fire, water and
air
o some common beliefs are the descendants of early Greek and Roman
theories of medicine
- its almost impossible to find a single definition of health
- in 1946 the World Health Organization defined health as: the state of
complete physical , social and spiritual well-being, not simply the absence of
illness
o this misses the key elements of human helath and well-being
(psychological, cultural and economic aspects should be included)
- psychological processes, behavior, cognition, imagination, emotion are all
mediators of health experience in different ways - these processes are all
embedded in out social interactions with others
- spiritual well-being for many is a primary element of what it means to be
human
- Definition of ‘health’: Health is a state of well-being with physical, cultural,
psychological, economic and spiritual aspects, not simply the absence of
illness.
o Health is never seen as ‘complete’ – we strive for it
Health as need-satisfaction
- people struggle to describe the difference between health and illness and
what needs to be in place for human beings to thrive, not just survive
- Maslow’s hierarchy of needs provides initial guidance (p.7) o Key elements are missing such as agency & autonomy (having the
freedom to choose) and spirituality (the feeling that not all of
experience is created by the physical world)
- Doyal and Gough argue that health and autonomy are the most basic of
human needs which are the same for everyone…all humans have a right to
optimal need-satisfaction…for this occur…certain societal preconditions –
political, economic and ecological – must be fulfilled.
11 intermediate needs:
1) adequate nutritional food and water
2) adequate protective housing
3) a safe environment for working
4) a safe physical environment
5) appropriate health care
6) security in childhood
7) significant primary relationships with others
8) physical security
9) safe birth control and child bearing
10) appropriate basic and cross cultural education
- they decide that health can only be defined negatively as the minimization of
death, disablement and disease
- Seedhouse has another approach defining ‘basic needs’ as food, drink,
shelter and warmth and purpose in life
- he thinks that the highest importance for all people are:
1) information – access to the widest possible info about all factors which
have an influence on a persons life
2) literacy and numeracy skills – people need to be able to understand how
the info applies to them and be able to make reasoned decisions about
what actions to take in the light of that info
3) sociality – an awareness of a basic duty which follows from living in a
community
- he suggests that specific foundations for different individual situations
depend on living conditions and circumstances
- ‘the devil is in the detail’ – there are 4 generic foundations and a set of special
foundations tailored to individual circumstances on a case by case basis
o any effort at health promotion involves an act of discovery to find out
what any individual or group must be given to fill the gap between
what they aspire and what they currently have
- health policies must be designed for the greater good of all and health
services need to work towards improving the lot for everyone – this idealism
is hard to implement in real world settings
The nature of health psychology
- importance of phsyosocial processes in health and illness are increasingly
recognized - much research has been conducted to investigate the possible role of stress
and psychological characteristics on the onset, course and management of
physical illness
- health psychologists increasing demand in health care and medical settings
- although the primary focus for health psyc has been clinical settings in the
past, interest is now directed towards interventions for disease prevention
esp with referring to sexual health, nutrition, smoking, alcohol, inactivity and
stress
- the traditional view of Western societies is an ideology of individualism
which views individuals as ‘agents’ who are responsible for their own health
- health education has succeeded to a certain degree – there is little room for
think
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