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Books > Medicine > General issues > Public health & preventive medicine > Personal & public health > Health psychology
"Adapt or perish, now as ever, is Nature's inexorable imperative. " -H. G. Wells, Mind at the End of Its Tether (1946) Doctors are trained to treat people suffering from various diseases. This is the main form of their activity and usually the reason for which they selected medicine as their profession. The notion that they should become managers and engage in activi ties such as programming, calculating cost, assessing cost-benefit ratios, and thinking about pricing in accordance with the social utility of their intervention, is both foreign and abhorrent to them. They are sometimes willing to say how much they need in order to have a well-functioning service: usually they prefer to state what specific apparatus and other things they require without specifying the price of their demand. They can be persuaded to add a price tag to what they think is necessary for their work: but that was about as far as they would go, until recently. The growing emphasis on human rights over the past few decades, the greater emphasis on quality of life and the public's heightened expectations about their health led, in many industrialized countries, to a greater demand for health services. This, com bined with improved possibilities of diagnosis and treatment (at higher cost!), led to a significant increase in financial demands which made governments and health-care systems uneasy and ready to accept any solution that would stop the spiral of seem ingly endless cost augmentation.
This volume provides an overview of the important health promotion and disease prevention theories, methods, and policy issues. Applications of these theories and methods are reviewed to promote health through a variety of channels, for a variety of disease outcomes, and among a variety of populations. It can be used as a text for introductory causes to the field of health promotion and disease prevention, as well as a reference for researchers and practitioner's actively working in this area.
TItis volume is the first effort to compile representative work in the emerging research area on the relationship of disability and physical environment since Barrier-Free Environments, edited by Michael Bednar, was published in 1977. Since that time, disability rights legislation like the Americans, with Disabilities Act in the United States, the worldwide growth of the independent-living move ment, rapid deinstitutionalization, and the maturation of functional assessment methodology have all had their impact on this research area. The impact has been most noticeable in two ways-fostering the integration of environmental vari ables in rehabilitation research and practice, and changing paradigms for environ mental interventions. As the contributions in this volume demonstrate, the relationship of disabil ity and physical environment is no longer of interest primarily to designers and other professionals concerned with managing the resources of the built environ ment. The physical environment has always been recognized as an important variable affecting rehabilitation outcome. Until recently, however, concepts and tools were not available to measure its impact in clinical practic~ and outcomes research. In particular, lack of a theoretical foundation that integrated environ ment with the disablement process hampered development of both research and clinical methodology. Thus, the physical environment received little attention from the mainstream rehabilitation research community. However, this situation is changing rapidly.
"I'm like a whirling leaf in the wind," said one of Dr. Lena Nilsson SchOnnesson' s patients, and another "I'm in the claws of HIV." Their voices and those of other HIV-positive patients frame the humanistic and scholarly discussion in this impor tant book. Dr. SchOnnesson, a Fulbright scholar at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Columbia University in 1995, has unusually extensive clinical experience in counseling HIV-positive gay men. Her work with 38 such patients treated between 1986 and 1995 is discussed in the pages that follow. Dr. SchOnnesson's longitudinal approach to clinical data is extremely unusual in the psychotherapy literature generally, and in the literature on counseling HIV positive men in particular. Building upon the experience of such recent scholar clinicians as Klitzman, Isay, Schaffner, and others, Dr. SchOnnesson adds some thing unique by analyzing her ongoing detailed notes of the psychotherapeutic process in a systematic quantitative as well as qualitative manner. The analysis of her data is further informed by her coauthor, Dr. Michael Ross, a therapist and investigator whose contribution to the clinical and research literature on the psychotherapeutic treatment of gay men has already been substantial.
'There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself.' Hannah Gadsby, Nanette Multi-awardwinning Hannah Gadsby transformed comedy with her show Nanette, even as she declared that she was quitting stand-up. Now, she takes us through the defining moments in her life that led to the creation of Nanette and her powerful decision to tell the truth - no matter the cost. Gadsby's unique stand-up special Nanette was a viral success that left audiences captivated by her blistering honesty and her ability to create both tension and laughter in a single moment. But while her worldwide fame might have looked like an overnight sensation, her path from open mic to the global stage was hard-fought and anything but linear. Ten Steps to Nanette traces Gadsby's growth as a queer person from Tasmania - where homosexuality was illegal until 1997 - to her ever-evolving relationship with comedy, to her struggle with adult diagnoses of autism and ADHD, and finally to the backbone of Nanette - the renouncement of self-deprecation, the rejection of misogyny, and the moral significance of truth-telling. Equal parts harrowing and hilarious, Ten Steps to Nanette continues Gadsby's tradition of confounding expectations and norms, properly introducing us to one of the most explosive, formative voices of our time.
Over the years, in our teaching of diagnostic interviewing to graduate students in clinical psychology, psychology interns, medical students, and psychiatric residents, we have searched for appropriate reading materials that encompass theoretical rationale, clinical description, and the pragmatics of "how to. " However, surprising as it may seem, there is no one work that includes the theoretical, the clinical, and the prac tical under one cover. This being the case, we thought it would be useful to us in our pedagogic efforts if we could put together such a text. And it is to this end that we developed the outline for our multiauthored text and presented it to Plenum Press for their review. We felt then, as we do now, that the material in this book simply does not represent "the cat being skinned in yet another way. " We sincerely believe that our stu dents really do need this one, and it is to them that we dedicate Diag nostic Interviewing. Our book is divided into three parts. In the first part (General Issues), basic interviewing strategies and the mental status examination are cov ered. The bulk of the book (Parts II and III) is devoted to examination of diagnostic interviewing for the major psychiatric disorders and for spe cial populations."
This birefs examines mortality among young children in the period from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. It does so using several types and sources of information from the census unit England and Wales, and from Ireland. The sources of information used in this study include memoirs, diaries, poems, church records and numerical accounts. They offer descriptions of the quality of life and child mortality over the three centuries under study. Additional sources for the nineteenth century are two census-derived numerical indexes of the quality of life. They are the VICQUAL index for England and Wales, and the QUALEIRE index for Ireland. Statistical procedures have been applied to the numbers provided by the sources with the aim to identify effects of and associations between such variables as gender, age, and social background. The briefs examines the results to consider the impact of children's deaths upon parents and families, and concludes that there are differences and continuities across the centuries.
In this compelling new book, Gillian Bendelow provides an accessible account of the complex interplay between mind, body and society. Contemporary critiques of biomedicine and the process of medicalisation have long emphasised the limitations of traditional western scientific medicine in the separation of mind and body. The subsequent turn to more holistic models of health and illness is now beginning to permeate medical education and healthcare practice. For Bendelow, a key aspect of this paradigm shift is the development of more sophisticated concepts of stress, which address the intertwining of emotion and embodiment, and emphasise social and material factors alongside biopsychological components. These theoretical and conceptual issues are explored first through an emphasis on contemporary health practices, and then through developments in illness and medicine. Examining the ways in which 'healthism', rather than 'medicalisation', pervades most areas of everyday life, attention is drawn to the bodily practices we pursue in the name of health. These include concerns with sexual health, health promotion, the use of complementary or alternative medicine, and the notion of emotional health. The book then considers the implications of being diagnosed as ill, and charts the limits of the divisions between 'mental' and 'physical' illness, examining a range of conditions, including chronic pain, eating disorders and other illnesses of the contemporary world. Health, Emotion and the Body combines clarity of expression with careful scholarship and originality, making it appeal to students and scholars with a wide range of interests, including the sociology of health and illness, the body, and mental illness, as well as health psychology.
Americans are "healing themselves" (Heckler, 1985) and prevention has taken root (McGinnis, 1985a). We are altering our lifestyle to reduce physical and mental health risks. Perhaps as important is the fact that the science of prevention is beginning to catch up with the practices of prevention, although some might argue that the popularity of these practices far outstrips sound theoretical and empirical foundations. The chapter authors in this volume examine the theoretical and empirical foundations of many current prevention practices and, where data exist, discuss the status of prevention efforts. Where substantial prevention is not yet on the horizon, the authors attempt to point us in the right direction or at least share with the reader some of the risk factors that should be addressed in our research. We hope that readers will be stimulated to discuss the issues raised, advance the current research, and, where possible, adopt the prevention and health promotion strategies that are supported by sound theoretical and empirical work. This volume can in no way be comprehensive with respect to the current work in prevention; however, we hope that we have provided a sampling of prevention activities and issues that appear together in one volume for perhaps the first time. The primary intent of this volume is modest, and the reader should not attempt to find continuity among the various chapters. The only binding among these contributions is their focus on prevention.
A "New Looking Glass" for Behavioral Medicine In 1984, John Briggs, a science writer and specialist in interdisciplinary studies teaching at the New School for Social Research, and F. David Peat, a physicist who was for many years a fellow with the National Research Council of Canada, published a book about the revolutions that were taking place in physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and neu rophysiology and about the scientists whose new theories were changing our understanding about the nature of the universe. The title of their book was Looking Glass Universe, after Lewis Carroll's classic story of Alice and her friends, Through the Looking Glass. Briggs and Peat's book is a well-written, challenging volume about human beings and how they think about old problems in new and sometimes startling ways. I mention Briggs and Peat's book only partially because I happen to have a personal interest in the potential applications of new ways of looking at and thinking about nature and data derived from modern physics and systems theory for health psychology and behavioral medi cine (e. g., Schwartz, 1984). In a letter Wolfgang Linden wrote to me on January 23,1987, he shared with me (at my request) his rough thoughts about his personal goals for this book."
This book is primarily based on the proceedings of a confer en.::: e entitled -Health Psychology: A workshop in Behavioral Medi cine, Treatment and Research Issues, - held April 8-9, 1983 at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Oklahoma Chil drens Memorial Hospital, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This conference brought together researchers from pediatric psychology, pedia tri cs, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, 1eurology, and psychiatry as part of a continuing medical education eries. While Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine are the fastest growing segments of Psychology, relatively little atten tion has been paid to the pediatric segment of the life cycle. Yet, if we are serious about risk factor reduction and prevention of chronic diseases, it is precisely intervention with the young which will give the largest, most cost-effective results. Thus, the primary focus of the conference was on the pedia tric aspects of health and disease. Chapter 1 deals with the problems of behavioral health and sets forth some goals for our nation by the year 1990. Chapters 2 and 3 present an overview of behavioral medicine and the research trends current and predictive of the future for the field. Chapter 4 takes on issues about psychology, child health, and human deve lopment. Chapter 5 addresses issues in pediatric medical compl i ance and how this situation might be improved. Chapter 6 deals wi th prematurity and the family, and Chapter 7 addresses pain management problems in the young."
The present volume has come about through an awareness of the absence of any cohesive and substantive source on the treatment of cognitive dysfunction following brain insult. I initiated the devel opment of our annual symposium Models and Techniques of Cognitive Rehabilitation, on which the present volume is based, so as to educate myself, as well as others, about the state of the art in modifying cognitive processes in the brain, injured. I became aware of the need for interventive strategies for the brain, injured while a graduate student. Brain functions had, for a long time, always fascinated me, but from an academic perspective. I was confronted with the clinical consequences of brain injury while administering batteries of neuro psychological tests, and this experience added another dimension to my interest in brain functions. I felt grossly inadequate because I was able to rather eloquently describe changes in brain-behavior relations with neuropsychological tests, but could only generate re commendations based solely on the use of compensatory strategies and occasionally on some unfounded, and probably naive, remedial guess. A literature search at this time yielded devastating, little informa tion. The next several years were characterized by a pseudo-obsession, occurring at times without total awareness, with methods and tech niques which might alter impaired brain-behavior relations. Completing graduate school, however, required that these thoughts take a secondary position relative to more typical graduate student thoughts.
Internet gambling is one of the fastest growing forms of gambling. Global Internet gambling expenditure is predicted to reach US$33.6 billion in 2011. This is higher than worldwide movie box office revenues and represents 9% of the international gambling market. The rapid increase in expenditure of 354% since 2003 has occurred despite Internet gambling being prohibited in several key markets, including the US and China. It also suggests that current regulation may be somewhat outdated and ineffective as more and more people turn to this mode of gambling. Internet gambling is highly accessible with over 2,400 sites available 24/7 through computers, mobile phones, wireless devices and even interactive televisions. Gamblers can now play casino games, bingo, cards and poker, bet on races, sports and even celebrity weddings using over 199 means of electronic payments without leaving the house. Increasing international jurisdictions are legalizing Internet gambling and the constant accessibility of online gambling has critical social implications. Gambling operators are using aggressive advertising campaigns to move into new markets. Internet gambling appears to be particularly appealing to youth, who are gambling online at substantially higher rates than adults. Furthermore, Internet gambling appears to be related to problem gambling, with rates of problem gambling three to four times higher among Internet than non-Internet gamblers, indicating that it may have a substantial social cost. The anonymity of online sports betting poses a significant threat to the integrity of sport at all levels with increasing allegations of match-fixing and cheating. Estimates suggested that 50% of all bets on the 2010 FIFA World Cup were placed online, worth an estimated GBP500 million. These figures represent a 700% rise in online betting since the 2006 tournament and included many new players that opened online accounts. It is essential that appropriate responses are made by governments, industry professionals and the public in response to Internet gambling. This book will provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of Internet gambling, including the social impact and regulatory options. A global outline will include the characteristics and features of the many forms of Internet gambling, including the current market, and participation, and differences between Internet and non-Internet gambling. Specific regional considerations will be explored including regulatory responses and options. Importantly, the social consequences and costs of Internet gambling will be examined, including the impact of online gambling on sports, youth and problem gambling. Strategies for prevention and responsible gambling will be considered as well as expected trends.
For two decades, I have been responding to questions about the nature of health psychology and how it differs from medical psychology, behavioral medicine, and clinical psychology. From the beginning, I have taken the position that any applica tion of psychological theory or practice to problems and issues of the health system is health psychology. I have repeatedly used an analogy to Newell and Simon's "General Problem Solver" program of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which had two major functional parts, in addition to the "executive" component. One was the "problem-solving core" (the procedural competence); the other was the representa tion of the "problem environment. " In the analogy, the concepts, knowledge, and techniques of psychology constitute the core competence; the health system in all its complexity is the problem environment. A health psychologist is one whose basic competence in psychology is augmented by a working knowledge of some aspect of the health system. Quite apparently, there are functionally distinct aspects of health psychology to the degree that there are meaningful subdivisions in psychological competence and significantly different microenvironments within the health system. I hesitate to refer to them as areas of specialization, as the man who gave health psychology its formal definition, Joseph Matarazzo, has said that there are no specialties in psychology (cited in the editors' preface to this book)."
Rather than physiological health only, complementary and alternative medicines aim at the production of wellbeing. This book explores how the increasing proliferation of holistic health methods are intimately connected with changing configurations of selfhood, gender and class.
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) poses a health threat unparalleled in modem times. Identified just a few years ago, AIDS and the human inunlmodeficiency virus (IDV) responsible for it affect millions of persons worldwide. AIDS has already become the leading cause of death among persons under 40 in some large American cities. From the beginning. it has been evident that AIDS carries unique psychological and social ramifications. In spite of its lethality, new cases of HIV infection are preventable if individuals can be assisted to make behavior changes to lessen or eliminate viral transmission. To the extent that we can develop effective primary prevention interventions, it will be possible to keep larger numbers of people from becoming infected with the mv virus. Psychological and social risk behavior change interventions, whether at the level of individual clients, groups, or entire communities, can playa key role-in fact, the only available role-in disease prevention. Patients with any life-threatening illness have psychological, social, and support needs. However, these needs are more pronounced and, often, less easily addressed for persons affected by AIDS. People in good clinical health but with HIV infection face years of worry concerning whether they will develop AIDS. Nearly 2 million Americans are currently in this precarious position; by 1991, 50 to 100 million persons worldwide are expected to share the same uncertainty."
We seek to throw down the gauntlet with this handbook, challenging the he gemony of the "behavioral medicine" approach to the psychological study and treatment of the physically ill. This volume is not another in that growing surfeit oftexts that pledge allegiance to the doctrinaire purity of behavioristic thinking, or conceptualize their subject in accord with the sterility of medical models. Diseases are not our focus, nor is the narrow band of behavioral assessment and therapy methodologies. Rather, we have sought to redefine this amorphous, yet burgeoning field so as to place it squarely within the province of a broadly-based psychology-specifically, the emerging, substantive discipline of health psy chology and the well-established professionalism and diverse technologies of clinical psychology. The handbook's title-Clinical Health Psychology-reflects this reorientation explicitly, and Chapter 1 addresses its themes and provides its justifications more fully. In the process of developing a relevant and comprehensive health assess ment tool, the editors were struck by the failure of clinical psychologists to avail themselves of the rich vein of materials that comprise the psychosocial world of the physically ill. Perhaps more dismaying was the observation that this field was being mined-less than optimally-by physicians and nonclinical psychologists."
"Tension" is an internationally recognized word. Its omnI presence in our public media--in our newspapers, on TV, in magazines, and on radio--as well as in our everyday conversations indicate that we are well aware of the problems of over-tenseness. Pulp news papers and magazines increase their sales with promises of quick relief for tension problems. Business executives complain at the end of the day of being "uptight," and often accept a hotel chain's invitation to "unwind" at their bar. Soap operas attract large audiences, in part capitalizing on tension problems--irritable ar guments between husband_ and wife seem interminable Indeed, the entire world is aware of the need to control ten sions. Such widespread needs invite varied "solutions," with the most attractive appearing ones offering promises of quick and easy cures. The market for tension reduction has been exploited in numer ous ingenious ways for centuries but I think never more than today. People with serious tension disorders often eagerly seize promises of easy relief, regardless of cost. Those who suffer headaches, spastic colon, essential hypertension, back pains, phobias and general anxiety are especially sensitized to tension disorders and potential cures. The American Association for the Advancement of Tension Control is dedicated to the elimination of tension problems through a two pronged attack: through the immediate technological application of tension control principles that now exist, and by encouraging scientific research to further develop our methods."
Since the late 1960s, the behavioral treatment of mentally retarded, au tistic, and other developmentally disabled persons has grown progres sively more sophisticated. The literature on behavioral treatment has produced effective and clinically significant programs for the reduction of maladaptive behaviors such as tantrums, aggression, and self-injury; skills deficits have been remediated through improved programs for language and life skills acquisition; and new environments have been opened in the creation of mainstream educational opportunities. In spite of these advances, it strikes us that this almost exclusive focus on behavior problems and skills remediation has been somewhat myopic and that much of the potential for application of behavioral science to solving problems of the developmentally disabled is as yet untapped. In the 1980s, an important revolution has taken place: the devel opment of the field of behavioral medicine. This field, in merging disease treatment and management with learning and behavior, has already made impressive progress toward a reconceptualization of health care that acknowledges the centrality of behavior in disease expression. Al though there has, as yet, been only a preliminary application of this reconceptualization to the field of developmental disabilities, we are convinced that further extension has great potential."
This book is a collection of invited contributions, each reflec ting an area of medicine in which computing techniques have been successfully applied; but why the title? From a control system point of view the aim of clinical medicine is to recognise the deviation of a patient from the space of normality, and to propel and steer the patient along a trajectory back to that space. Acquiring and main taining the knowledge and skills of this process is the function of medicine. The first chapter expands on this view. Subsequent chapters written by experts in their respective areas cover a fair range of application. All give considerable insight as to the ways in which the control system approach, facilitated by computational tools, can be of value when applied to clinical problems. The idea for this book arose naturally out of a symposium held at the University of Sussex, Brighton, England, on "Control System Concepts and Approaches in Clinical Medicine" in April, 1982, spon sored by the Institute of Measurement and Control and co-sponsored by the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Royal Society of Medicine. It is not, however, a "proceedings" of this meeting but rather a collection of essays that reflect developing areas in which many have particular interest. We think the volume is timely and hope that the work described will be an encouragement for others."
As people live longer and health care costs continue to rise and fewer doctors choose to specialize in geriatrics, how prepared is the United States to care for its sick and elderly? According to veteran psychologist Seymour Sarason's eloquent and compelling new book, the answer is: inadequately at best. And rarely discussed among the grim statistics is the psychosocial price paid by nursing home patients, from loneliness and isolation to depression and dependency. In "Centers for Ending," Dr. Sarason uses his firsthand experience as both practitioner and patient in senior facilities to reveal wide-ranging professional and moral issues affecting this seemingly familiar terrain. Insensitive medical personnel, poorly trained nurses and aides, indifferent administrators, and a prevailing culture content with treating "bodies" instead of human beings are identified as contributing factors. Drawing on America's rich history of large-scale solutions to social problems, Dr. Sarason offers penetrating insights and bold suggestions in such areas as: The widening care gap between haves and have-nots.Why professional caregivers fail to understand patients.The nursing home resident as immigrant.Why previous reform efforts have not worked.The need for a Presidential commission for the elderly.The scenario if conditions are allowed to remain as they are or worsen. This concise volume is essential reading for researchers, graduate students, professionals, practitioners, and policy makers across such fields as geriatric medicine, health psychology, social work, public health, and public policy. "Centers for Ending "is a clarion call to be ignored at great cost to our elders and ourselves. "
As governments throughout the world experience increasing fiscal challenges, the pressures on public sectors to streamline services and harness technological advances is unprecedented. Many have undergone huge budgetary cuts as a result, but what are the effects of this intense organisational change on such a large and varied workforce? And how can managers within the public sector meet the challenge of delivering services whilst maintaining the health and wellbeing of staff tasked with carrying out the work? Managing Health and WellBeing in the Public Sector: A Guide to Best Practice is the ideal companion to any manager in these challenging times. Exploring the realities of working in the public sector, and those factors which can add meaning and purpose to working life, the book provides managers with a practical toolkit for creating the best working environment, as well as nurturing resilience and motivation within their staff. Written by two authors with a lifetime of experience in the field, the book also examines why promoting occupational health and wellbeing is beneficial to organizations, drawing on a wealth of international research to support this argument. It concludes with a series of case studies in which an international range of public sector managers discuss initiatives they have implemented, and how successful they have been. This is the ideal companion for any manager working in the public sector. It will also be instructive reading for students or researchers of occupational or organizational psychology, as well as HRM.
In recent years ideas about the influence of psychological status on physical health have been elevated from intuition and clinical lore to a legitimate area of scientific study. Mechanisms of influence are, indubitably, diverse. Some of this influence is indirect, accounted for simply by the instrumental help that social engagement, associated with good mental health, affords people; for example, psychologically "healthy" people are probably more likely to comply with medication regimens and engage in other healthful behaviors to a greater extent than those who are socially withdrawn or psychologically unstable. But recent studies suggest that while the importance of these more obvious factors cannot be denied, the complete picture includes factors that are much more subtle and complex. A body of research is beginning to accumulate that suggests that all three major regulatory systems -- the central nervous system, the endocrine system, and the immune system -- are affected by cognitions, emotions and behavior. There is no doubt that a relationship between mental and physical health exists, but very little is known about the specific mechanisms by which such influence occurs. At least in part, empirical research in this area has been limited by the inherent need for an interdisciplinary approach and synthesis of collected data. Recently, a few researchers in a number of different disciplines have begun to study directly the linkage between psychological and emotional well being and health."
This third edition provides a thorough real-world exploration of the scientist-practitioner model, enabling clinical psychology trainees to develop the core competencies required in an increasingly interdisciplinary healthcare environment. The book has been comprehensively revised to reflect shifts towards transdiagnostic practice, co-design principles, and personalized medicine, and features new chapters on low intensity psychological interventions and private practice. Fully updated for the DSM-5 and ICD-11, provides readers with a contemporary account of diagnoses. It covers practical skills such as interviewing, diagnosis, assessment, case formulation, treatment, case management, and process issues with emphasis on the question 'how would a scientist-practitioner think and act?' The book equips trainees to deliver the accountable, efficient, and effective client-centred service demanded of professionals in the modern integrated care setting by demonstrating how an evidence-base can influence every decision of a clinical psychologist. Essential reading for all those enrolled in, or contemplating, postgraduate studies in clinical psychology.
Why do people enter total institutions - places that confine and control them around the clock - and how does the experience change them? This book updates Goffman's classic model by introducing the Re-inventive Institution, where members voluntarily commit themselves to pursue regimes of self-improvement. |
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