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Health Psychology represents the educational, scientific and professional contributions of psychology to: 1) the promotion and maintenance of health; 2) the prevention and treatment of illness; 3) the aetiology of health and illness; 4) the healthcare system and health policy. In this module, you will be introduced to core theoretical perspectives and ‘best practice’ models for these four core areas. In particular, you will understand that health and illness are the result of complex interactions between psychological, social and biological influences. This module aims to provide you with an overview of Health Psychology theories and constructs, and to show how they are applied to explain and predict commonly studied health-related behaviours and health outcomes. Moreover, an aim is to encourage an understanding of the psychological, social and biological influences on health and healthcare delivery.

After taking this module, you will be able to:

1. Show an appreciation of the effect of individual differences, biology, genetics, ethnicity, gender, culture and class on the psychology of health and healthcare;
2. Understand how Health Psychology has contributed to the prevention and management of common diseases, such as obesity and cardiovascular disease;
3. Understand the role of health psychology in public health, healthcare practice and policy.

This is an advanced module for Year 3 students on the BSc Population Health Sciences programme, running in Term 2. There is limited availability for UCL elective students from other departments. Places are allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis on Portico when the module selection opens. Spaces are limited.

The teaching for this module will include theoretical lectures, along with applications to understanding particular diseases (such as obesity and dementia), healthcare delivery and well-being. There will also be interactive seminars, as well as independent research and reading.

Module leads: Dr Dimitra Kale and Dr Vera Buss

Selected Reading List:

• Ogden, J. (2012) Health psychology. 5th ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Available at: https://www.vlebooks.com/Product/Index/196286.
• Abraham, C. et al. (2016) Health psychology. Second edition. London: Routledge. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315776453
• Armitage, C. J., & Conner, M. (2000) Social cognition models and health behaviour: A structured review. Psychology & Health, 15(2), pp. 173–189. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/08870440008400299.
• Abraham, C. and Michie, S. (2008) A taxonomy of behavior change techniques used in interventions. Health Psychology, 27(3), pp. 379–387. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.27.3.379.
• Medical Research Council. A framework for the development and evaluation of RCTs for complex interventions to improve health. London: Medical Research Council, 2000. Available at: https://mrc.ukri.org/documents/pdf/rcts-for-complex-interventions-to-improve-health/.
• Michie, S., van Stralen, M.M. and West, R. (2011) The behaviour change wheel: A new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventions. Implementation Science, 6(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-6-42.
• Johnson, B. T., & Acabchuk, R. L. (2018) What are the keys to a longer, happier life? Answers from five decades of health psychology research. Social Science and Medicine, 196, pp. 218–226. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953617306561.