Socialization process as applied to health; social history of health; effects of socio-economic factors on health behavior: Understanding Health and Illness Essay, DCU, Ireland

Learning Outcomes:-

• Evaluate psychological factors that impact health and ill health.
• Discuss the role of sociological factors in relation to health and physical activity and ill health.
• Evaluate the contribution of epidemiology to the understanding of health and illness.

Health

Socialization process as applied to health; social history of health; effects of socio-economic factors on health behavior; effects of poverty and social deprivation on health-related behaviors. Health throughout the lifespan: stress and coping; stress management; mental health.

Epidemiology

Introduction to epidemiology; data sources for epidemiology; demographic data; environmental indicators; socioeconomic indicators; patterns of disease and ill health; measuring health and assessing health need; morbidity and mortality; causation and association; health impact assessment; subjective and objective health measures.

What is Health Psychology?

• Health psychology is the study of health, illness, and healthcare practices.
• It aims to understand, explain and ideally predict health and illness behavior in order that effective interventions can be developed to reduce the physical and emotional costs of risky behavior and illness.
• It offers a holistic but fundamentally psychological approach to issues in health, illness, and health care.