Therefore, psychologists, as behavioral health providers, play an important role in understanding how biological, behavioral and social factors influence health, and. The UK School of Public Health has recently taken over the Health Knowledge resource. This new ad-free website is still under development and there may be some problems accessing the content. In addition, the content has not been audited or verified by the School of Public Health as part of an ongoing quality assurance process and, therefore, some of the included material may be out of date.
If you have any questions regarding the content, you should verify it independently. The etiology of illness and ailment is influenced by a variety of social, cultural, psychological, and interpersonal factors. These factors interact to contribute to the causes and consequences of poor health, as well as to the way in which people experience and interpret them. Among working-age adults, employment is one of the most clearly demonstrated determinants of health, not only in terms of the social and health consequences of employment or unemployment, but also the impact of work in itself.
The Whitehall studies, which began in 1967, have long established a social gradient in work and health, with a lower employment situation associated with increased morbidity and mortality (see Marmot, 20). Lower-wage and lower-skilled workers are more likely to be absent and stop working because of health problems (Black & Frost, 201); unsafe, low-quality, low-status work reduces the amount of control and support people have at work, which in turn has detrimental effects on physical and mental health (Marmot, 20). Psychological factors influence not only the experience of health and illness, but also health-related behaviors. This influence can be reactive, e.g.Drinking more because of stress or proactively, for example, making decisions about quitting smoking based on health beliefs and one's ability to make changes.
The perception of factors such as risk, susceptibility, costs, consequences, control and trust in the ability to make changes predicts health-related behaviors and can help to understand basic health concepts (see cultural factors and lay beliefs in health below). The findings of sociological research on the beliefs of lay people in matters of health, which focus on discovering the rules and meanings that different social groups use to order their lives and give meaning to their experience of health and illness, have been of great value to doctors. These findings demonstrate the sophistication and complexity of lay beliefs about health, and point to the need for health professionals not to treat patients' opinions simply as “incorrect knowledge” and, therefore, to improve the relationship between the patient and the professional. Sociological research on these lay beliefs in health covers a period of thirty years. Table 2 below is an attempt to summarize the main findings and give examples of how these beliefs are manifested in the real world (“indicators”).
Behavioral models based on “seeking help” or related to the disease However, the interesting feature of the model is that the decision to seek help does not necessarily lead to going directly to the medical professional. People resort to what is called a “lay referral” system, which includes family, friends and the local community, so for example, a young mother who is confronted with a baby who cries continuously may choose not to go directly to the family doctor because she fears that she will be classified as an “anxious mother” and, therefore, go to her own mother or to other mothers with older children for advice. People are increasingly turning to “self-medication” as generic drug treatments are increasingly available without a prescription. It is also possible that they are one of the hundreds of thousands of people who each year choose what, in general terms, is called “alternative” healthcare; it is now a multi-billion dollar industry in Britain. Despite the influence of these help-seeking models, health policies over the past two decades have focused less on disease-related behaviors than on developing strategies to promote health maintenance (health-related behaviors).
In this case, both social psychological models and sociological approaches have been applied to understand the beliefs of lay people in matters of health in order to achieve a change in health and style. of life. Social science research has suggested that the relative quality of individual and group social relationships serves as psychosocial mediators in health outcomes. The quality of these relationships is considered to reflect the degree to which individuals own or have access to a wide range of social networks and a shared set of social norms (see section 1).
Sociologists recognize that these factors are key characteristics of a cohesive society. This construct focuses attention on the importance of interpersonal relationships. It encapsulates the notions of emotional support, instrumental help, information provision and personal assessment. However, as a construction it may lack some clarity.
Social psychologists believe that sources of social support are derived from social networks. The importance of these networks lies in their role as a “buffer” against the negative impact of stressful life events, helping people to adapt. The main source of social support in chronic diseases, for example, comes from the family. Brown and Harris's classic research (197) on clinical depression among working-class women recognized that the differential availability of social support was a critical factor in a person's relative “vulnerability” to stressful life events. They observed that social support acted through what they called intimacy, acting as a powerful mediator between the stressor (the provoking agent) and the onset of the disease (depression).
The Marmot Report (20) highlights the importance of social support for health, since loneliness and social isolation are related to premature mortality and a higher risk of depression. Strong social networks are associated with increased happiness and health, and better recovery from illness; in addition, social participation can act as a protective factor against dementia and cognitive decline. People who live in more disadvantaged areas are more likely to seriously lack social support compared to people who live in more affluent areas (pp. Rehabilitation psychology is a clinical specialty applied to professional psychology that deals with the treatment and science of chronic and disabling diseases.
The hypothesis was that psychological and social resources would be negatively associated with health risk behaviors, and the opposite association with psychological risk factors. Health psychologists apply psychological research and methods to the prevention and treatment of diseases, the promotion and maintenance of health, the identification of psychological factors that contribute to physical illness, the improvement of the health care system, and the formulation of health policies. Clinical psychology is the application of psychological knowledge and skills, research and intervention techniques to health and illness, particularly as it relates to mental health. Psychological psychology is a specialty in the field of psychology in which professionals help individuals as individuals and groups to improve their well-being, alleviate their distress, resolve their crises, and increase their ability to solve problems and make decisions. These psychosocial factors include social and psychological resources, as well as psychological risk factors.
Psychosocial factors included social resources (social integration and emotional support), psychological resources (perceived control, self-esteem, sense of coherence and trust) and psychological risk factors (cynicism, life exhaustion, hopelessness and depression). The American Psychological Association defines clinical psychology as “a clinical discipline that involves the provision of diagnostic, evaluation, treatment plan, treatment, prevention and consultation services to patients in emergency rooms, inpatient units and hospital clinics. Health psychology is an important part of managing the psychological and emotional impact that health and illness can have on your life.
