Search results for ‘Subject term:"physical illness"’ Sort:
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Control and the psychology of health: theory, measurement and applications
- Author:
- WALKER Jan
- Publisher:
- Open University
- Publication year:
- 2001
- Pagination:
- 267p.,tables,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Buckingham
Presents a comprehensive review of concepts and theories that are central to our understanding of the psychology of health, including perceived control, locus of control, learned helplessness, self efficacy and social support. The origins and theoretical development of each concept are explored, and the links between them analysed. Their current status as variables in health related research is examined and examples of their applications in a range of health care contexts are given, along with an overview of tools of measurement. The final chapter brings these concepts together within a single theoretical framework, which explains the potential interaction of personal control theory and social support in promoting and sustaining psychological well being.
The role of psychological symptoms and social group memberships in the development of post-traumatic stress after traumatic injury
- Authors:
- JONES Janelle M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Health Psychology, 17(4), November 2012, pp.798-811.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
While the costs associated with traumatic injury are often exacerbated by the development of post-traumatic stress symptoms, it is unclear what decreases the development of post-traumatic symptoms over time. This study investigated the role of psychological symptoms and social group memberships in reducing the development of post-traumatic stress symptoms after orthopaedic injuries (OIs) and acquired brain injuries (ABIs). It assessed self-reported general health symptoms, social group memberships, and post-traumatic stress symptoms among 62 participants with mild or moderate ABI and 31 participants with upper limb OI at 2 weeks (T1) and 3 months (T2) after injury. Analysis revealed that the development of post-traumatic stress symptoms over time was associated with higher levels of general health symptoms among individuals with orthopaedic injuries. They were associated with lower levels of social group memberships among individuals with acquired brain injuries.
Essential readings in health psychology
- Editors:
- OGDEN Jane, (ed.)
- Publisher:
- Open University Press
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 516p.
- Place of publication:
- Maidenhead
The second edition includes a new chapter on the measurement of health status and new sections on professional issues, recent developments in social cognition models, body dissatisfaction and dieting, causes of obesity and the measurement of pain. The introduction provides a historical and theoretical framework within which to study health psychology. The book focuses on psychological theory and how it has been applied in the area of health. It explores how research can be used to influence and structure practice.
Health psychology for health care professionals
- Author:
- NIVEN Neil
- Publisher:
- Churchill Livingstone
- Publication year:
- 2000
- Pagination:
- 254p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
- Edition:
- 3rd
This book is an introduction to health psychology, with the emphasis on health promotion. Section one investigates how psychology informs the process of interacting with patients and also colleagues. It addresses how culture influences interpersonal skills and considers how health professionals attempt to change people's attitudes and behaviour regarding health. Section two is concerned with actual content of health psychology and takes a biopsychosocial approach to explanations of health behaviour including exploring pain and stress in the context of life events, transitions and crises. Section three deals with some aspects which are sometimes overlooked in the biopsychosocial models, including the influence of age, environment and organisations. Includes case studies and exercises.
Chronic fatigue and its syndromes
- Authors:
- WESSELY Simon, HOTOPF Matthew, SHARPE Michael
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- Publication year:
- 1998
- Pagination:
- 446p.,bibliogs.
- Place of publication:
- Oxford
Presents an objective and comprehensive review of the problem of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), or ME, mixing medical, psychological, social and historical perspectives. Begins by considering the nature of fatigue, and its physical and psychological origins. Goes on to introduce the subject of CFS, tracing its historical origins before considering the epidemiology, and the various aetiological theories for modern forms of the condition - viral, immunological, psychological, psychiatric, and neurological. Concludes with a clinical section that gives a step by step guide to the assessment and treatment of CFS.
Armfuls of time: the psychological experience of the child with a life-threatening illness
- Author:
- SOURKES Barbara M
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Publication year:
- 1995
- Pagination:
- 201p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Portrays the psychological experience of children facing a life-threatening illness and describes ways of working with them to enable them to communicate their feelings about the treatment they undergo, their relationship with their families, their experience of the illness and of living with the threat of loss.
Challenges and opportunities for integrative health research in the context of culture
- Author:
- McDADE Thomas W.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 66(3), February 2008, pp.520-524.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
A new generation of research in population health is drawing on models and methods from the social and biomedical sciences to combine rich measurement of everyday contexts with objective measures of physiological function and health in field-based settings. This article focuses on two questions of particular importance to comparative research. First, how do we use biological measures to define “health”. Second, how do we define and measure social context, particularly across cultural settings. Answers to these questions, as well as others addressed by scholars working at the intersection of the social and biomedical sciences, will ultimately lead to a better, more multidimensional understanding of human biology and health.
Neuroendocrine biomarkers, allostatic load, and the challenge of measurement: a commentary on Gersten
- Authors:
- LOUCKS Eric B., JUSTER Robert P., PRUESSNER Jens C.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 66(3), February 2008, pp.525-530.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
The article discusses Gersten's findings particularly in relation to the challenge of accurately measuring stress, neuroendocrine markers and allostatic load. Allostatic load is a timely, potentially useful tool to measure the degree in which the body's physiological function is outside of optimal range. As with most biomarkers early on in development, there are sound opportunities to advance methods that will help understand the etiology of allostatic load and allow it to become more accurately measured. The authors present a biomarker development framework that should aid in furthering measurement of allostatic load, emphasizing the importance of biomarker measurement accuracy, standardization of methods, and relevance to clinically meaningful outcomes.
The path traveled and the path ahead for the allostatic framework: a rejoinder on the framework's importance and the need for further work related to theory, data, and measurement
- Author:
- GERSTEN Omer
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 66(3), February 2008, pp.531-535.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Ideas related to the newly introduced allostatic framework have caught on in the scientific community, and not without good reason. This short report highlights what has been gained from the framework by discussing the term “allostasis” in comparison to “homeostasis” and “homeostatic mechanisms,” and by outlining key ideas behind the phrase “allostatic load.” In terms of how allostatic theory can be strengthened, this piece delves into the need for the theory to be clearer about what is meant by load that is “cumulative” and the need to incorporate results from research work on hormesis demonstrating the salutary, not damaging, effects of a moderate amount of stress. Lastly, some space in the rejoinder is devoted to how we can better operationalize the allostatic load construct and how new waves of biomarker-containing surveys are poised to collect yet more physiological information and are now more comprehensively measuring, in what is surely a difficult task, stress over the life course.
Individual differences in the temporal variability of medically unexplained symptom reporting
- Authors:
- FERGUSSON Eamonn, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Health Psychology, 9(2), May 2004, pp.210-240.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Non-specific or medically unexplained symptoms account for up to 35% of outpatient referrals. In contrast to the literature on affect, little is known about how people frame daily symptoms and how these patterns are influenced by individual differences. Three fixed occasion diary studies over an 8-day period (one on ill veterans of the Gulf War and two on healthy undergraduates) and a single cross-sectional survey (on ill Gulf War veterans) were conducted. The severity and frequency of daily symptoms were assessed in all daily diary samples, together with the Big 5 personality domains in one of the undergraduate samples and in the survey of veterans. The data were analysed using auto-correlations and hierarchical multivariate linear modelling. In all the chronically ill and healthy samples, the data suggested potential cyclical patterns for symptom severity reporting. With regard to the frequency of symptom reporting, the veterans showed a pattern of constant symptom reporting. Finally, the relationship between the reported severity of symptoms was attenuated by intellect and surgency. There is evidence that daily experiences of symptom severity are framed relative to each other and this relationship is influenced by personality. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.