| Semester 2, 2023 Online | |
| Units : | 1 |
| School or Department : | School of Psychology and Wellbeing |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
| Course fee schedule : | /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules |
Staffing
Course Coordinator:
Requisites
Pre-requisite: PSY3030
Overview
This course explores the connection between how people think and behave and their physical and mental health. The connection between mind and body is bi-directional and multi-faceted. The ways in which people think or feel can benefit or harm their health in areas such as cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, coping with chronic disease, drug and alcohol use, fitness, or injury and disease prevention. People's physical health status can conversely affect their moods, attitudes to life, and both individual and social behaviour. This course will assist students to integrate their knowledge of psychology into the bio-psycho-social context of physical and psychological health, thus preparing them to acquire the practical and specialised knowledge and skills taught at postgraduate level.
This course will consider psychological factors involved in the area of health and disease from the theoretical perspectives of social psychology as they relate to behavioural change. It will discuss psychological research methods in their application to health. Students will examine health-related behaviours, such as coping with disease and pain, attitude to medical advice, smoking, diet, exercise, alcohol use, sexual practices, and injury prevention. Finally, future challenges facing psychology in its relationship to health will be outlined.
Course learning outcomes
On completion of this course students should have acquired knowledge, be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of biopsychosocial determinants of health and illness;
- Critically analyse literature pertaining to health psychology discipline;
- Apply the understanding to a range of health-related conditions;
- Understand the content, principles, and methods of health psychology research.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | What is health? Changing perspectives. Individual, cultural, and lifespan perspectives on health. What is Health psychology? Poverty and health. Minority status and health. Work and health. | 10.00 |
| 2. | What is health behaviour? Diet. Obesity. Alcohol consumption. Smoking. Unprotected sexual behaviour. Exercise. Health-screening behaviour. Immunisation. | 10.00 |
| 3. | Predicting health behaviour. Influences on health behaviour. Models of health Behaviour. Continuum models of behaviour change. Stage models of behaviour change | 10.00 |
| 4. | Reducing risk of disease. Health promotion. Screening programs. Strategies for changing risk behaviour. Modelling change. Behaviour practice. Cognitive strategies. Promoting population health. Using the mass media. Environmental influences. | 10.00 |
| 5. | The body in health and illness. Behavioural anatomy of the brain. The autonomic Nervous system. The immune system. The digestive tract. The cardiovascular system. The respiratory system. Symptom perception, interpretation, and response. | 10.00 |
| 6. | The consultation and beyond. Influencing factors. Moving beyond consultation. | 5.00 |
| 7. | Stress, health, and illness. Concept of stress. Types of stress. Stress as a physiological response. The stress and illness link. | 5.00 |
| 8. | Stress and illness moderators. Stress and coping. Stress, personality, and illness. Stress and cognitions. Stress and emotions. Social support and stress. | 5.00 |
| 9. | Preventing stress. Working with individuals. Helping people to cope with trauma. Minimising stress in hospital settings. | 5.00 |
| 10. | Impact of illness on quality of life. Measuring quality of life. Illness, emotions and adjustment. Illness and family. Caring. | 5.00 |
| 11. | Pain. The experience of pain. Biological models of pain. A psychobiological theory of pain. Future understandings of pain - the neuromatrix. Helping people to cope with pain. | 10.00 |
| 12. | Improving health and quality of life. Coping with chronic illness. Reducing distress. Managing illness. Preventing disease progression. | 10.00 |
| 13. | Futures. Health psychology research and the future of healthcare in Australia. | 5.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
Student workload expectations
To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.
Assessment details
| Description | Group Assessment |
Weighting (%) | Course learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiz | No | 10 | 1,2,3 |
| Essay | No | 45 | 2,3,4 |
| Time limited online examinatn | No | 45 | 1,2,3,4 |