Health Psychology
Defining Health
Absence of symptoms; also, physical fitness and vitality, health enhancing behaviours, psycho-social wellbeing,
feeling function, activities having a positive resource/reservoir.
Cultures can very in definitions of health
Indigenous: ‘not just the physical well-being of the individual but the social, emotional and cultural well-
being of the whole community’ (National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Party 1989)
Health Psychology
Study of the social, behavioural, cognitive and emotional factors that influence the: maintenance of health,
development of illness and disease, course of illness or disease, patient and family’s response to illness/disease.
Models of Health
Biomedical Biochemical, reductionist, single factor, emphasises illness, medically
dominant
→ traditional medical view
Biopsychosocial Complex interactions, Holistic, Interactive, Emphasises health,
Multidisciplinary
→ Given more emphasis today
→ interaction between
BIOLOGICAL (genetic predisposition, psych functioning)
PSYCHOLOGICAL (cognition, emotion, personality, motivation)
SOCIAL FACTORS (culture, legislation, community, access to edu)
Health belief model Health behaviours can be predicted if one knows:
The perceived seriousness of the health threat
Perceived susceptibility to threat
Benefits/barriers to undertaking particular health behaviours and
cues to action
Measurements of Health: Life and Death
Common measures:
Life expectancy: years of life remaining to individual at particular age. Most common – life expectancy at
birth. Assumes death rates do not change
Mortality: number of deaths in population in given period
, Morbidity: Ill health in individual + levels of ill health within a population (incidence, prevalence)
Incidence: # of newly diagnosed cases of a disease (new cases of disease that occur within a defined population over
a specified period)
Prevalence: total cases within population at a time. Includes new and old. > incidence. Depends on incidence rate
and duration (how long you have disease for).
Health Statistics
AUSTRALIA WORLD
Key Stats Life expectancy at birth 81m and 84f (2019)
5th highest life expectancy for males, 8 th
highest for females (OECD countries)
Mortality rate 0.1%
Disease Men leading causes of death: coronary heart
disease, lung cancer, dementia/Alzheimer’s,
Women leading death:
dementia/Alzheimer’s, coronary heart,
cerebrovascular disease
2013: cancer (all types) surpasses all
cardiovascular diseases as leading cause
Smoking Today, 15.1% of men and 11.6% of women
smoke
↓ Australians smoking—62% never smoked
—but the decline in smoking rates has
slowed, with no decline seen between 2013
and 2016
1.7x higher unemployed
1.9x higher homosexual/bisexual
2x high in remote/very remote areas
compared to major cities
2.6x higher ATSI
5.7x higher prison entrants
21,000 people die each year in Australia due
to smoking-related disease
40% die from cancers; 30% die from heart
diseases
Smokers die about 10yrs earlier
Alcohol 26% of people drink more than is
recommended on a single occasion, and they
do this at least once each month.
fewer people aged 12–17 are drinking and a
greater proportion are abstaining from
drinking altogether
, Obesity Aus 5th most obese 1975-206 world obesity
about 99% of children, 97% of men and 95% tripled
of women do not consume the 2016: >1.9b obese
recommended serves of vegetables, and 2016: 41m children <5 obese
more than two-thirds (69%) of children and > 340 million children and
almost half (47%) of adults exceed the adolescents (5-19 yrs) were
recommended intake of free sugars overweight or obese (18%)
92% of young people aged 13–17, 52% of 63% of adults, 26% of
adults aged 18–64 and 75% of adults aged 65 children aged 5–14 37% of
and over are not doing the recommended young people aged 15–24
amount of exercise for their age each week are overweight or obese.
63% of Australian adults are overweight or
obese. ↑over time
Growing rate of severe obesity, which almost
doubled between 1995 and 2014–15 among
adults.
Elevated blood pressure and blood lipids are
linked to disease risk. Slightly more than 1/3
(6 million) Australian adults have high blood
pressure, and almost 2/3 (8.4 million) have
abnormal blood lipid levels.
Diabetes 2 Similar rates men and women
ABS 2014–15 National Health Survey:
estimated 1.2 million (5.1%) people
o 85% had type 2 diabetes and 15%
had type 1 diabetes.
For every 4 adults with diagnosed diabetes, it
is estimated that there is 1 undiagnosed.
In 2014–15, diabetes was more common in
males (6%) than females (4%). It increased
rapidly with age, to about 16% for those
aged 65–74, based on self-reported data
Dementia 2018, 376,000 Australians will have dementia
and 61% of people with dementia will be
female. FEMALE > MALE
In 2016, dementia replaced heart disease as
the leading underlying cause of death for
females and remained the third leading
cause of death for males
More than 100 diseases are associated with
the condition
Alzheimer disease accounts for up to 80% of
cases
affects almost 1 in 10 (8.8%) people aged 65
and over.
40% from 2006 to 2016
Just over 1% of people with dementia are
estimated to be under 60, while people aged
85 and over account for 43% of cases
Chronic Diseases
Characterised by long lasting effects: once present, they often persist throughout persons life= functional limitations
and disability.
>1/2 Australians affected by at least: arthritis, asthma, back pain and problems, cancer, cardiovascular disease,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, mental health conditions.
Defining Health
Absence of symptoms; also, physical fitness and vitality, health enhancing behaviours, psycho-social wellbeing,
feeling function, activities having a positive resource/reservoir.
Cultures can very in definitions of health
Indigenous: ‘not just the physical well-being of the individual but the social, emotional and cultural well-
being of the whole community’ (National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Party 1989)
Health Psychology
Study of the social, behavioural, cognitive and emotional factors that influence the: maintenance of health,
development of illness and disease, course of illness or disease, patient and family’s response to illness/disease.
Models of Health
Biomedical Biochemical, reductionist, single factor, emphasises illness, medically
dominant
→ traditional medical view
Biopsychosocial Complex interactions, Holistic, Interactive, Emphasises health,
Multidisciplinary
→ Given more emphasis today
→ interaction between
BIOLOGICAL (genetic predisposition, psych functioning)
PSYCHOLOGICAL (cognition, emotion, personality, motivation)
SOCIAL FACTORS (culture, legislation, community, access to edu)
Health belief model Health behaviours can be predicted if one knows:
The perceived seriousness of the health threat
Perceived susceptibility to threat
Benefits/barriers to undertaking particular health behaviours and
cues to action
Measurements of Health: Life and Death
Common measures:
Life expectancy: years of life remaining to individual at particular age. Most common – life expectancy at
birth. Assumes death rates do not change
Mortality: number of deaths in population in given period
, Morbidity: Ill health in individual + levels of ill health within a population (incidence, prevalence)
Incidence: # of newly diagnosed cases of a disease (new cases of disease that occur within a defined population over
a specified period)
Prevalence: total cases within population at a time. Includes new and old. > incidence. Depends on incidence rate
and duration (how long you have disease for).
Health Statistics
AUSTRALIA WORLD
Key Stats Life expectancy at birth 81m and 84f (2019)
5th highest life expectancy for males, 8 th
highest for females (OECD countries)
Mortality rate 0.1%
Disease Men leading causes of death: coronary heart
disease, lung cancer, dementia/Alzheimer’s,
Women leading death:
dementia/Alzheimer’s, coronary heart,
cerebrovascular disease
2013: cancer (all types) surpasses all
cardiovascular diseases as leading cause
Smoking Today, 15.1% of men and 11.6% of women
smoke
↓ Australians smoking—62% never smoked
—but the decline in smoking rates has
slowed, with no decline seen between 2013
and 2016
1.7x higher unemployed
1.9x higher homosexual/bisexual
2x high in remote/very remote areas
compared to major cities
2.6x higher ATSI
5.7x higher prison entrants
21,000 people die each year in Australia due
to smoking-related disease
40% die from cancers; 30% die from heart
diseases
Smokers die about 10yrs earlier
Alcohol 26% of people drink more than is
recommended on a single occasion, and they
do this at least once each month.
fewer people aged 12–17 are drinking and a
greater proportion are abstaining from
drinking altogether
, Obesity Aus 5th most obese 1975-206 world obesity
about 99% of children, 97% of men and 95% tripled
of women do not consume the 2016: >1.9b obese
recommended serves of vegetables, and 2016: 41m children <5 obese
more than two-thirds (69%) of children and > 340 million children and
almost half (47%) of adults exceed the adolescents (5-19 yrs) were
recommended intake of free sugars overweight or obese (18%)
92% of young people aged 13–17, 52% of 63% of adults, 26% of
adults aged 18–64 and 75% of adults aged 65 children aged 5–14 37% of
and over are not doing the recommended young people aged 15–24
amount of exercise for their age each week are overweight or obese.
63% of Australian adults are overweight or
obese. ↑over time
Growing rate of severe obesity, which almost
doubled between 1995 and 2014–15 among
adults.
Elevated blood pressure and blood lipids are
linked to disease risk. Slightly more than 1/3
(6 million) Australian adults have high blood
pressure, and almost 2/3 (8.4 million) have
abnormal blood lipid levels.
Diabetes 2 Similar rates men and women
ABS 2014–15 National Health Survey:
estimated 1.2 million (5.1%) people
o 85% had type 2 diabetes and 15%
had type 1 diabetes.
For every 4 adults with diagnosed diabetes, it
is estimated that there is 1 undiagnosed.
In 2014–15, diabetes was more common in
males (6%) than females (4%). It increased
rapidly with age, to about 16% for those
aged 65–74, based on self-reported data
Dementia 2018, 376,000 Australians will have dementia
and 61% of people with dementia will be
female. FEMALE > MALE
In 2016, dementia replaced heart disease as
the leading underlying cause of death for
females and remained the third leading
cause of death for males
More than 100 diseases are associated with
the condition
Alzheimer disease accounts for up to 80% of
cases
affects almost 1 in 10 (8.8%) people aged 65
and over.
40% from 2006 to 2016
Just over 1% of people with dementia are
estimated to be under 60, while people aged
85 and over account for 43% of cases
Chronic Diseases
Characterised by long lasting effects: once present, they often persist throughout persons life= functional limitations
and disability.
>1/2 Australians affected by at least: arthritis, asthma, back pain and problems, cancer, cardiovascular disease,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, mental health conditions.
