Health Psychology

Week 1:

1. Facets of Health Psychology
2. Significance of Health Psychology
3. Health Psychology and Related Areas
4. Research Methods – Epidemiological Methods, Survey Methods, Experimental Methods and Clinical Methods
5. Assignment

Week 2:

1. Concept and Determinants of Health Behaviour
2. Theoretical Approaches to Health Behaviour - The Health Belief Model, The Theory of Reasoned Action and Learning Theory Approaches to Health Behaviour
3. Concept and Dimensions of Illness cognitions, Leventhal’s self-regulatory model of illness cognitions (Stage 1: Interpretation, Stage 2: Coping, Stage 3: Appraisal)
4. Problems with assessment (stage 1: interpretation -symptom perception and social messages; stage 2: coping- coping with a diagnosis and coping with the crisis of illness)
5. Assignment

Week 3:

1. Using the self-regulatory model to predict outcomes (Predicting adherence to treatment, predicting recovery from stroke and Predicting recovery from MI)
2. Changing Attitudes and Beliefs
3. Behavioural Technology- Cognitive – Behavioural Approaches and Specific Techniques
4. Attitude and Behaviour Change Principles – Appeals by Physicians, Mass Media Appeals, Promoting Health in Schools and Work Place, Self- help Groups
5. Assignment

Week 4:

1. Specific Health Problems – Smoking, Alcohol Abuse, Obesity and Weight Control and Exercise
2. Nature and Conceptualisation of Stress - Cannon’s fight or Flight Response, Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome and Stress and Psychological Appraisal
3. Measurement of Stress – Self –report Measures, Performance Measures, Physiological Measures and Biochemical Measures
4. Stress and Disease – Stress and Behaviour, The Psychophysiology of Strese
5. Assignment

Week 5:

1. Stress and Specific Health Problems- Peptic Ulcers, Asthma and Sports Injury
2. Coping Process, Coping Goals and Strategies, Coping and Health
3. Psychological Control as a Moderator of Stress – Gaining a Sense of control and Individual Differences in Perceived Control
4. Personality and Coping- Personality Traits and Stress, Disease- Prone Personality and Hardy personality
5. Assignment

Week 6:

1. Social Support
2. Stress Management – Relaxation, Meditation, Biofeedback, Physical Activity and Stress Inoculation Training
3. Nature and Socio-cultural Context of Illness
4. Perceiving Symptoms – Physiological and Psychological symptoms
5. Assignment

Week 7:

1. Factors in Symptom Perception and Accuracy in Symptom Perception
2. Responding to Illness – Types of Illness Response, Illness Behaviour as Coping, Delaying Medical Care and Overusing Medical Care
3. Psycho social Dimensions of Chronic Illness and Disability- Psychological Aspects, Social Aspects and Helping People Cope
4. Breaking the Bad News: Helping the Patient Understand the situation
5. Assignment

Week 8:

1. Psychological Intervention and Chronic Illness
2. Chronic Illness and Rehabilitation
3. Illness and Gender Quotient
4. Illness in Childhood
5. Assignment

Week 9:

1. Illness and Ageing
2. Living with Diabetes- Nature, Psychosocial Dimensions and Helping People Live with Diabetes
3. Dealing with Arthritis - Nature, Psychosocial Dimensions and Helping People Live with Arthritis
4. Living with Alzheimer’s disease – Impact on Family, Helping Families Cope
5. Assignment

Week 10:

1. Cancer
2. Coronary Heart Disease
3. Pain Physiology and Psychosocial Factors in the experience of Pain
4. Theories of Pain – Early Pain Theories and Gate Control Theory
5. Assignment

Week 11:

1. Controlling Pain – physical Methods, Psychological Approaches and Pain Clinics
2. Concept of Death and Facing the Thought of Death
3. Dying Trajectories, Stages in Reactions to Dying, Social Relationships and Dying
4. Management of the Dying Patient
5. Assignment

Week 12:

1. Grief and Bereavement
2. Children and death – Children’s concepts of Death, Terminally ill Child, Helping Children Deal with Death
3. Concept of Compliance and predicting whether patients are compliant: The Work of Ley
4. Enhancing Compliance
5. Assignment

Week 13:

1. The wider role of information and Knowledge in illness and doctor–patient communication
2. The problem of doctor variability
3. Significance of Placebo in Treatment
4. Assignment