...Psychology of Health in the Workplace Kristin Haimowitz HCA/250 January 22, 2012 Wakita R. Bradford Psychology of Health in the Workplace A good attitude can go a long way in making the place where you work a more tolerable place to be. Having a healthy lifestyle can make it easier to deal with the smaller problems that seem to happen on a day to day basis. Health psychology is concerned with understanding how biological, psychological, environmental, and cultural factors are involved in physical health and the prevention of illness. Due to recent advances in psychological, medical, and physiological research, it had lead to new ways of thinking about health and illness. This conceptualization, which has been labeled the biopsychosocial model, views health and illness as the product of a combination of factors including biological characteristics (e.g., genetic predisposition), behavioral factors (e.g., lifestyle, stress, health beliefs, and social conditions (e.g., cultural influences, family relationships, social support) (Marks, 2011). People have developed a field of health psychology that helps people deal with stressors that they are involved with at their workplace. Many experts perform research to help them solidify their findings. Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) has developed from these studies, and does research so that they can better understand the needs of people in their work settings. Also, OHP looks to understand how psychosocial characteristics...
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...Psychology of Health in the Workplace Psychology of Health in the Workplace Kristin Haimowitz HCA/250 January 22, 2012 Wakita R. Bradford Psychology of Health in the Workplace A good attitude can go a long way in making the place where you work a more tolerable place to be. Having a healthy lifestyle can make it easier to deal with the smaller problems that seem to happen on a day to day basis. Health psychology is concerned with understanding how biological, psychological, environmental, and cultural factors are involved in physical health and the prevention of illness. Due to recent advances in psychological, medical, and physiological research, it had lead to new ways of thinking about health and illness. This conceptualization, which has been labeled the biopsychosocial model, views health and illness as the product of a combination of factors including biological characteristics (e.g., genetic predisposition), behavioral factors (e.g., lifestyle, stress, health beliefs, and social conditions (e.g., cultural influences, family relationships, social support) (Marks, 2011). People have developed a field of health psychology that helps people deal with stressors that they are involved with at their workplace. Many experts perform research to help them solidify their findings. Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) has developed from these studies, and does research so that they can better understand the needs of people in their work settings. Also, OHP...
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...Discussion on how theory and research in health psychology has been helpful or unhelpful in addressing human problems. Areas important in health psychology involve studies of behaviour which courses illness and also a way to try motivate individuals to leave healthy with the influence from hospitals and care professionals in the society. ‘Health psychology is the aggregate of the specific educational, scientific and professional contribution of the discipline of psychology to the promotion and maintenance of health, the prevention and treatment of illnesses’ Matarazzo (1980). As health psychology is widely related to health the definition of healthy is by the World Health Organization (WHO) 1948 saying that health is ‘the state of complete physical, social and spiritual well-being, not simply the absences of illnesses’. As psychology is the science of behaviour and change; psychologists have helped to influence change in people’s life. As health psychology is interested mainly in health and health maintenance rather than on diseases and disease prevention. It was found in the 1970s when many countries (western) began to suffer from diseases and death in result to declining expenditures, to resolve the situation health promotion strategies were introduced. As there are many factors that courses diseases for example smoking which leads to diseases like cardiovascular disease, to investigate the relationship between health behaviours, health and disease outcomes studies would be...
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...The Affects of health and psychology in the work place HCA/250 University OF PHOENIX 8/11/14 The relationship between health and psychology is well known throughout the U.S. More research is being done more than ever before and helping to provide more information on a person view on how they see themselves and overall health should be acknowledged when trying to change or sustain a healthy life. Studies are showing genetics, psychological, and where the person grows up is three main reasons why people become ill. Here is an example that would affect health and psychology in the work place would be what you eat every day. A person who leaves home without eating a healthy breakfast before they arrive at work him/her can become sluggish, moody, not completing the task at work and make others want to distant themselves away from them. Someone who is unable to do well at work due to poor food choices of not eating at all can defiantly jeopardize their health and lose their job. Examples of lifestyle choice that can enhance and prevent illness. The first thing would be to workout everyday this will help you to keep your weigh under control, prevent unwanted illness like diabetes, cancer stroke. Stroke today are a silent killer and you can actually be sleeping and die in your sleep. High blood pressure you can also prevent by eating all the right foods and reading labels looking for foods and drinks low in sodium. Foods that are processed or full of sugars is no good for a person’s...
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...HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY Health psychology is defined as the application of psychology to the relevant areas of health, disease and the health care system. Medicine and health psychology have many common themes and interests but they differ in their approaches. The primary focus of medicine is the diagnosis, treatment and cure of illness. The focus of health psychology goes beyond that of medicine to stress the prevention and enhancement of health. It expands the biological framework of medicine to also include psychological and social factors. The scope of health psychology is very broad because many theories and methods of psychology can be applied to health-related issues. Maes & van Elderen (1998) (cited in Gross, 2009) defines health psychology as “…a sub-discipline of psychology which addresses the relationship between psychological processes and behaviour on the one hand and health and illness on the other...”. Health psychology aims to understand, explain, develop and test theories by evaluating the role of psychology and its perspectives as factors affecting illness, predicting unhealthy behaviours and understanding and evaluating the role of psychology in the experience and treatment of illness. It also aims to put theory into practice by promoting healthy behaviour, preventing illness and thereby improving the health care system and health policy. For example, from programmes developed to help people reduce risk factors to their health, such as obesity and...
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...Psychology of Health in the Workplace Psychology of Health in the Workplace To understand the relationship between psychology and health we must first understand what each term means. Psychology can be defined as the science or study of the mind and behavior. (“Webster, 2014) And according to “Webster” (2014) health can be defined as “the overall condition of someone’s body or mind. So how do these two relate? I believe the mind is a very powerful tool and can have a major effect on the body and how one feels. When researched the definition of “health psychology I found this definition, “Health psychology is a specialty area that focuses on how biology, behavior and social factors influence health and illness. (About Education”, 2014) This idea was very interesting to me, the fact that contagious and hereditary illnesses are not the only factors to our overall health. We now have to take into consideration our behavior, lifestyle choices, our surroundings and our mind when thinking about staying healthy. So what are some types of behavior or lifestyle choices that are bad for you? This may seem like a no brainer, but hygiene is a very important habit to create. Washing hands, body and brushing teeth daily help to fight off infectious diseases and help to keep the body strong and healthy. This is especially important when outside the home. At work, at the grocery store or even just pumping gas, germs are all around you. Washing your hands routinely is your best defense against...
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...Cultural barriers affecting the mental health of Indigenous people Cultural barriers certainly have a crucial impact in affecting the mental health of Indigenous people. This is evident as Indigenous people tend to have considerably high levels of stress and anxiety in their lives stemming from the consequences of trauma and grief of stolen generation and dispossession which is intricately linked to mental health and disorder (Craven, 2006).This common pattern of loss of culture, land, voice, family and dignity resulted in poor mental wellbeing for many Indigenous generations over the past century (Brown, 2001). However, problems still continue due to the inadequate research in the mental health of indigenous people. This results in mental illnesses being undiagnosed, undetected for Indigenous people, which makes them disadvantaged with from the rest of the population (Vukic, Gregory, Misener & Etowa, 2001). In addition, if they are diagnosed, they are assessed using Western mainstream methods, such as the DSM-IVclassification system, which does not suit their cultural differences and is culturally inappropriate (Craven, 2006).Also, being treated in the mainstream, it is evident that that their treatment will not be from an Indigenous perspective or worldview, and thus their underlying concerns will be ignored and overlooked (Valmae, Stephen, Melissa, Komla, 2007). There needs to be an understanding of Indigenous culture by healthcare professionals in the mainstream services...
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... Psychology of Health in the Workplace Paper Health and Psychology are overlapping concepts that describe the well-being and mental influences that motivate to respond to their health psychologically and physically. Health can be explained as optimal wellness or type of illness (Sarafino, 2011). In other words, health is whether someone is experiencing symptoms or simply how their current state of their body. This essay will take a look at the interrelatedness of health and psychology, health in the workforce, and lifestyle choices that can be done to deter illness and chronic diseases. Psychology and Health relationship Psychology and health provides a reasoning that an individual personality and mental process influence their health (Sarafino, 2011). For instance, health might be pre-determines biologically such as genetics and DNA. Psychological factors such as negative emotions, conscientiousness, anxiety, stress, hostility, and pessimism may impact an individual health. For example, an individual may become depress and utilize high-fat foods to deal with depression, which in turns contributes to obesity and weight gain. Another aspect on how health and psychology relationship combines is through behaviorism to impact health positively. Few examples of the goals through behaviorism, for health and psychology is motivating health and wellness, averting illnesses, classifying the causes of illnesses and dysfunctions, and improving health policies...
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...Psychology and Health Problems James Hasty Axia College of University of Phoenix PSY 210 Introduction to Psychology Alshondrea Denton March 22, 2009 There are many health problems that can be associated to an individual’s reaction to life changes and stressors that can be experienced every day or a little at a time. This paper will summarize the multifactorial model and describe how it relates to the diagnosis of illnesses and it will explain what role psychology has played in understanding and managing two health problems discussed in the text. My hope is that this paper will help reinforce the ways that we can overcome the stresses we experience every day and live a healthier lifestyle, so that we can give our children an example to follow in order to improve their quality of life. According to our text, the multifactorial model is the belief that health and illnesses are a function of multiple factors involving biology, psychological, and cultural domains, and their interactions (Nevid & Rathus, 2005). The way that the multifactorial model works is by identifying factors that can affect our health and susceptibility to illness so that we can, in turn, control them and prevent them from affecting us further. The multifactorial model breaks the factors into six different categories; these categories are biological, sociocultural, environmental, personality, behavior, and stressors. Biological factors are the most obvious causes of illness. Things such as a family...
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...Psychology and Health Problems Psy210 12/12/2010 Psychology and Health Problems Summarizing the multifactorial model between health and illness, physicians and psychologist have determined a correlation between life experiences, history of family’s disease, and a person’s abilities to handle situations that directly affect their health in a negative or positive outcome. Cultural diversity plays a role in whether a person is able to receive better health care in relation to social economic factors than the country in which they live. Even though the United States and Canada have the advance health care than other European countries there is still the factor of lack of insurance and lower status of social economics that many lack the source of good health care (Nevid & Rathus, 2005). Psychological, environmental, biological and sociocultural factors affect a person’s health whether female or male. Two health problems that are first discussed in the text are premenstrual syndrome and headaches. Headaches are accountable in 20% of people who suffer from the two most common severe types of migraine and muscle tension headaches. GAS or general adaptation syndrome in the first two stages forces the muscles to contract in the forehead, shoulders, neck and persistent stress can lead to the constant constriction of those muscles. Tension headaches are described as a feeling of a viselike pressure throughout the head. Another major headache known as migraines is seen in about...
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...Psychology and Health Problems Course: PSY/210 September 02, 2010 Instructor: Deb Maison Psychology and Health Problems Psychology has played an excellent role in understanding and managing of health problems by conducting research and recognizing that the interaction between different group factors may cause health problems. The multifactorial model is used to make connection between life experiences, family medical history, genetics, and a person’s ability to handle situations that directly affect an individual’s health in a negative or positive way. It also allows doctors to consider other diagnoses that may be involved when someone is coughing rather than just assuming he or she has a common cold. Medical professional also benefit by treating patients’ efficiently if he or she is aware of their medical condition. In addition, to ease the diagnosis break down of illness the multifactorial model has divided these factors into six categories: biological factors, environmental factors, behavioral, stressors, personality, and sociocultural factors. Biological factors include genetic components, family medical history, gender, and age. Generally, people think that just because their families’ medical history consists of high-risk medical conditions that he or she will be diagnosed with them too. In most instances, individuals do not consider that age and gender also play high role in health. For example, diabetes is a hard disease to detect according to the American...
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...Psychology and Health Problems Tammy Salter PSY/210 August 9, 2011 We ask ourselves these questions everyday like: What are Germs and why does one become ill? Do viruses play a part or do Poor lifestyle choices play a large role? The Multi-factorial Model explains this; there are many reasons that an individual’s health may suffer. One’s environment, biology, socioeconomic status, sources of stress, and even personality all help to determine if someone will fall ill. Physicians and mental health professionals, as well as their patients, can benefit from this information. When an individual knows what is causing his or her health problems, he or she is better prepared to take steps to cure or prevent these problems. Maybe, like the old wives tale, it is believed that being outside with a wet head caused that persistent cold? Most of the listed reasons do play a role in whether or not an individual will become ill, but there are others issues that are contributed as well. One of the causes of health problems in individuals is environmental factors. How does one’s environment makes him or her sick? Consideration must be given to an individual’s environment. Is there clean drinking water available? Can an individual venture outside without fear of what toxic chemicals may be taken the human body when breathing the air? Some people worry about illness with every drink of water and breathe of air they take in. The World Health Organization (2008) stated that “Thirteen million...
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...Psychology of Health in the Workplace Kimberly Okony HCA/250-The Psychology of Health University of Phoenix Axia April 22, 2012 Darlene Tomlinson Psychology of Health in the Workplace The relationship between health and psychology has become more established in recent years. Past and continuing studies, and research, is providing insight into how an individual’s entire feeling of wellbeing should be considered when trying to balance or maintain the status of their overall health. They are discovering that many biological, mental, and environmental factors can all work together to add to people’s health issues. Finding the correct balance of treatment choices is now including other alternative influences and circumstances as possible elements that may be adding to the causes of physical health issues. An example of a specific lifestyle choice that can affect health and psychology in the workplace is poor eating habits. For an individual who may choose to skip breakfast in the morning, he or she can become irritable, have a difficult time concentrating, or develop physical symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, or headache. Irritability can lead to poor communication with co-workers and loss of production on everyone’s schedule. Loss of energy from low blood sugar may lead to feeling tired and unable to concentrate which again can lead to misunderstandings and poor communication in order to resolve work related issues. One...
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...Health Psychology Committee HCA/250 July 10, 2011 Wakita R. Bradford Health Psychology Committee Health Psychology is a specialty that focuses on how different biological, psychological, social and behavioral factors influence the recovery of a patient’s health and illness. In order to enhance patient health, measurable by shorter hospitalizations and improved adherence to medical regimens, a Health Psychology Committee has developed. A psychiatry division comprised of five specialists will be responsible for implementing psychological methods which will enable the treatment of the patient on a more complete level. Taking into consideration the undeniable presence of stress in any instance of illness and the fact that stress not only effects behavior responses but also impairs immune functioning by changes in the body’s physical systems the role of psychology becomes even more evident in providing patient care (Sarafino, 2006). By incorporating psychology in to health care the patient can experience a reduction in stress will ultimately enhance their overall health. Patients will be better equipped with the necessary skills to successfully adapt and cope with a variety of illnesses. Effective coping strategies can only be obtained through use of psychological methods. This will result in shorter hospitalizations and an increased patient compliance with treatment plans. Each case is a specialized issue, which requires treatment for the five different areas...
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...Health Psychology paper Dianna Norris HCA 250 July 19, 2013 Axia College Of University Phoenix Health Psychology Paper Forensic psychology has always been a fascination for me. Forensic psychology is psychological for the criminal justice system. The fascination for me was how the forensic psychologist is able to detect criminal tendencies. The psychological approach is the way the evidence could lead to certain criminal behavior. [ (psychology school guide, 2012) ]For criminal psychologists they have to look at all angles of a way a person commits a crime. The FBI has a behavior science unit and they help with the understanding of criminals and terrorists [ (Portland State University Careers in Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2012) ]. This unit has three other counterparts and they all play a very important part of the FBI, they are the crime analysts, criminologists and clinical psychologists. This is an example of how psychology and criminal justice can overlap. There are many different types of agrees and certifications as well as many paths that can be taken in forensic psychology(psychology school guide, 2012) [ (psychology school guide, 2012) ] . Example: Forensic psychology requires either a Bachelors or Masters Degree. I have thought of this degree ever since I was eleven years old. Family situations quashed me going back to school at that time. At the time I was thinking about this career choice on-line classes were not offered. I would have applied...
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