[1] The discipline is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical health and illness.
For example, certain behaviors can, over time, harm (smoking or consuming excessive amounts of alcohol) or enhance (engaging in exercise) health.
In addition, health psychologists can help train other healthcare professionals (e.g., physicians and nurses) to apply the knowledge the discipline has generated, when treating patients.
[13] Recent advances in psychological, medical, and physiological research have led to a new way of thinking about health and illness.
This conceptualization, which has been labeled the biopsychosocial model, views health and illness as the product of a combination of factors including biological characteristics (e.g., genetic predisposition), behavioral factors (e.g., lifestyle, stress, health beliefs), and social conditions (e.g., cultural influences, family relationships, social support).
Health psychologists work with many different health care professionals (e.g., physicians, dentists, nurses, physician's assistants, dietitians, social workers, pharmacists, physical and occupational therapists, and chaplains) to conduct research and provide clinical assessments and treatment services.
While many health psychologists provide clinical services as part of their duties, others function in non-clinical roles, primarily involving teaching and research.
[16] Health psychologists can work with people on a one-to-one basis, in groups, as a family, or at a larger population level.
A major aim of PHP is to investigate potential causal links between psychosocial factors and health at the population level.
CoHP also develops community-level interventions that are designed to combat disease and promote physical and mental health.
CrHP prioritizes social justice and the universal right to health for people of all races, genders, ages, and socioeconomic positions.
[citation needed] Pickren and Degni[17] and Sanderson[18] observed that in Europe and North America, occupational health psychology (OHP) emerged as a specialty with its own organizations.
[citation needed] In 1969, William Schofield prepared a report for the APA entitled The Role of Psychology in the Delivery of Health Services.
For example, the Alameda County Study, which began in the 1960s, showed that people who ate regular meals (e.g., breakfast), maintained a healthy weight, received adequate sleep, did not smoke, drank little alcohol, and exercised regularly were in better health and lived longer.
At the first divisional conference, Matarazzo delivered a speech that played an important role in defining health psychology.
In 1986, Stan Maes (1947–2018) of Tilburg University convened a meeting of researchers from Finland, Switzerland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Spain, the UK and the Netherlands.
Medical psychology, however, was a relatively small field, primarily aimed at helping patients adjust to illness.
[31] The BPS's reconsideration of the role of the Medical Section prompted the emergence of health psychology as a distinct field.
[32] Marie Johnston and John Weinman argued in a letter to the BPS Bulletin that there was a great need for a Health Psychology Section.
For example, health psychology has found a relation between the personality characteristics of thrill seeking, impulsiveness, hostility/anger, emotional instability, and depression, on one hand, and high-risk driving, on the other.
[42] OHP research indicates that people in jobs that combine little decision latitude with a high psychological workload are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
A common example of population-based attempts to motivate the smoking public to reduce its dependence on cigarettes is anti-smoking campaigns.
[14] Health psychologists also aim at educating health professionals, including physicians and nurses, in communicating effectively with patients in ways that overcome barriers to understanding, remembering, and implementing effective strategies for reducing exposures to risk factors and making health-enhancing behavior changes.
[60] Health psychologists engage in research and practice aimed at getting people to follow medical advice and adhere to their treatment regimens.
[61] Additionally, traditional cognitive-behavioural therapies have been adapted for people with chronic illnesses and comorbid psychological distress to include modules that encourage, support and reinforce adherence to medical advice as part of the larger treatment approach.
Below are some examples of the types of positions held by health psychologists within applied settings such as the UK's NHS and private practice.
Healthcare professionals who treat individuals with mental health conditions prefer medications that provide energy and have fewer side effects.
[citation needed] Once qualified, health psychologists can work in a range of settings, for example the NHS, universities, schools, private healthcare, and research and charitable organizations.
[58] All qualified health psychologists must also engage in and record their continuing professional development (CPD) for psychology each year throughout their career.
[69] The standard pathway to becoming an endorsed health psychologists involves a minimum of six years training and a two-year registrar program.