This book examines the concept of health psychology following its trajectory from ancient to contemporary times. It analyses the theories, practice and research in health psychology from both Indian and Western perspectives.
The volume brings together knowledge diversified across various narrow subfields. It expounds upon physiological psychology; chronic illnesses associated with physiological systems; and biopsychosocial approaches to treatment and management with therapeutic interventions integrated throughout the book. It further discusses health promotive and health risk behaviour with reference to health policies and databases at national and global levels.
This book will be beneficial to the students, researchers and teachers of psychology, applied psychology, public health, public policy, community health, and medical and paramedical studies. It will also be indispensable to the policy-makers and NGOs working in the field of public health.
List of figures
List of tables
List of boxes
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
1 History and Evolution of Health Psychology
2 Wellness, Illness, Health and Health Psychology
3 Positive Health Behaviour
4 Health Risk Behaviour
5 Theories of Health Behaviour
6 Human Physiology
7 Stress and Illness
8 Chronic Illness and Therapeutic Interventions
9 Psychology of the Caregiver and Care-Provider
10 Health Resilience
11 Pain and Its Psychosocial Correlates
Biography
Meena Hariharan is superannuated as Professor in the Centre for Health Psychology at the University of Hyderabad, India. She is the founder-director of this centre, which was launched in 2007. She is one among the very few in India working in the area of behavioural cardiology. She has developed and validated effective intervention models for cardiac patients. Her research includes quality of doctor-patient communication and ICU trauma resilience, stress and coping. She has designed intervention packages for CABG patients and standardized scales for psychosocial assessment of cardiac patients, measurement of quality of doctor-patient communication and adolescent well-being to mention a few. She is the founder-president of the Association of Health Psychologists and the editor of the Journal of Health Studies.
