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HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY - Need,HBM- limitations and applications
Need of health psychology was there from the beginning. Since the establishment of
psychology as an independent branch of study in the 20th century, psychologists have
given inputs in inspecting why some people get ill and others do not, adjustment of
people to their health conditions, and factors that lead people to exercise health
behaviors.
A unit specially organized by the American Psychological Association (APA) to focus on

the role of psychology in health, joined hands with independently working social
psychologists, counseling psychologists, and clinical psychologists who were employed
in healthcare settings. They together formed the Division of Health Psychology in 1978
within the American Psychological Association (APA), being the most important
development in the field of psychology in the past 50 years.
Why do we need health psychology?
There are four main reasons for need of health psychology–
1. Change in Health Patterns

2. Advancement in Technology and Research
3. Expanded Health Care Services
4. Increased Medical Acceptance
1. Change in Health Patterns

Until the 20th century, acute diseases like tuberculosis, influenza, and measles were
common. These Acute Disorders were short termed, which were results of viral or
bacterial invaders and uncomplicated to cure. These disorders are manageable now
because of better public health standards like waste and sewage improvements.
Now Chronic Illnesses, diseases and disorders are increasing- like Heart disease,
respiration disease, cancer, Accidents, Stroke, Alzheimer, Diabetes, Self harm, etc.
They develop slowly and people have to live with them for many years. Chronic illnesses
have given rise to health psychology for the following two reasons:
These chronic diseases have many psychological and social causes. For instance,
health habits like smoking, alcohol, substance use, unprotected sex, etc contribute to
the development of heart disease, cancer, STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases ), AIDS,
etc.
2. Advancement in Technology and Research

Health Psychologists address issues created by new scientific advancements,
technologies, treatments etc. Recent years researchers found out various genes which
contributed to different cancers.
Advancements in technology and research help in the early diagnosis of chronic

illnesses at the earlier stage or prediction of illnesses according to the genetic history of
a person. These can have a prolonged effect on the quality of life and mental health of
people.
How can we assist a college student whose mother just received a breast cancer
diagnosis to accept her risk? How will her life be affected if she receives a positive
result from a breast cancer gene test? Health psychologists help with these kinds of
inquiries.
Health Psychologists can create ray of hope in patients with the help of Crispr 9 gene
editing techniques. Cas 9 can edit a particular gene which is causing a particular cancer
or disease.
Quality of life may be severely compromised by certain treatments that extend life.
Patients are being asked more and more about their preferences for life-sustaining
measures, and they may need counseling in these areas. These are only a couple of
instances of how wellbeing clinicians answer logical turns of events.
3. Expanded Health Care Services

Health care is the largest service industry in the United States. Americans spend more
than $2.3 trillion annually on health care (National Center for Health Statistics, 2011).
In India, Health care has been growing at a CAGR of 22% since 2016, employing 4.7
Million people directly. The sector has the potential to generate 2.7 million additional
jobs in India between 2017-22, It will reach US$ 372 billion in 2022 (NITI Aayog, 2022).
The Healthcare industry is the largest service industry and is still expanding. However,
there is still a disparity in the administration of healthcare facilities. There is an uneven
distribution of facilities among all the economic classes.
Health psychology’s primary focus on prevention—specifically, changing people’s

hazardous health behaviors before they become ill—can lower the amount of money
spent on the management of sickness since controlling health care expenses is so
crucial.
Health psychologists can contribute to the creation of a user-friendly healthcare system

by understanding what makes individuals happy or unhappy with their medical care.
There are millions of individuals employed in the healthcare sector. Almost everyone in
the nation interacts directly with the healthcare system by using its services. As a result,
it has a huge influence.
4. Increased Medical Acceptance

Another reason for the development of health psychology is the increasing acceptance
of health psychologists within the medical community.
To address health-related issues, health psychologists have created a range of short-

term & Long term behavioral therapies like CBT, REBT, etc for managing pain, changing
unhealthy habits like smoking, and controlling treatment side effects. Techniques that
may only need a few hours to teach can have a long-term positive impact. Such
measures, especially those that address risk factors like poor nutrition and smoking,
have helped to reduce the prevalence of various illnesses, particularly coronary heart
disease.
Ultimately, if a health-related discipline is to flourish, it must demonstrate a strong track

record, not only as a research field but as a basis for interventions as well (Glasgow,
2008; King, Ahn, Atienza, & Kraemer, 2008). Health psychology is well on its way to
fulfilling both tasks.
References
Ogden, J. (2017). Health psychology: A textbook (4th ed.).McGraw Hill Education.
Sarafino, Edward P and Smith, Timothy W (2012). Health Psychology – Bio psychosocial
Interaction (7th ed). Wiley India Edition.
Taylor, Shelley E. (2018). Health Psychology (10th ed). McGraw Hill Higher Education.
Indian Edition
THE HEALTH BELIEF MODEL
The Health Belief Model (HBM) was developed in the early 1950s by social scientists at
the U.S. Public Health Service in order to understand the failure of people to adopt
disease prevention strategies or screening tests for the early detection of disease. Later
uses of HBM were for patients' responses to symptoms and compliance with medical
treatments. The HBM suggests that a person's belief in a personal threat of an illness or
disease together with a person's belief in the effectiveness of the recommended health
behavior or action will predict the likelihood the person will adopt the behavior.
The HBM derives from psychological and behavioral theory with the foundation that the
two components of health-related behavior are 1) the desire to avoid illness, or
conversely get well if already ill; and, 2) the belief that a specific health action will
prevent, or cure, illness. Ultimately, an individual's course of action often depends on the
person's perceptions of the benefits and barriers related to health behavior. There are
six constructs of the HBM. The first four constructs were developed as the original
tenets of the HBM. The last two were added as research about the HBM evolved.
1. Perceived susceptibility - This refers to a person's subjective perception of the

risk of acquiring an illness or disease. There is wide variation in a person's
feelings of personal vulnerability to an illness or disease.
2. Perceived severity - This refers to a person's feelings on the seriousness of

contracting an illness or disease (or leaving the illness or disease untreated).
There is wide variation in a person's feelings of severity, and often a person
considers the medical consequences (e.g., death, disability) and social
consequences (e.g., family life, social relationships) when evaluating the severity.
3. Perceived benefits - This refers to a person's perception of the effectiveness of
various actions available to reduce the threat of illness or disease (or to cure
illness or disease). The course of action a person takes in preventing (or curing)
illness or disease relies on consideration and evaluation of both perceived
susceptibility and perceived benefit, such that the person would accept the
recommended health action if it was perceived as beneficial.
4. Perceived barriers - This refers to a person's feelings on the obstacles to

performing a recommended health action. There is wide variation in a person's
feelings of barriers, or impediments, which lead to a cost/benefit analysis. The
person weighs the effectiveness of the actions against the perceptions that it
may be expensive, dangerous (e.g., side effects), unpleasant (e.g., painful), time-
consuming, or inconvenient.
5. Cue to action - This is the stimulus needed to trigger the decision-making

process to accept a recommended health action. These cues can be internal
(e.g., chest pains, wheezing, etc.) or external (e.g., advice from others, illness of
family members, newspaper articles, etc.).
6. Self-efficacy - This refers to the level of a person's confidence in his or her ability
to successfully perform a behavior. This construct was added to the model most
recently in mid-1980. Self-efficacy is a construct in many behavioral theories as it
directly relates to whether a person performs the desired behavior.
LIMITATIONS OF HEALTH BELIEF MODEL
There are several limitations of the HBM which limit its utility in public health.
Limitations of the model include the following:
● It does not account for a person's attitudes, beliefs, or other individual

determinants that dictate a person's acceptance of a healthy behavior.
● It does not take into account behaviors that are habitual and thus may inform the
decision-making process to accept a recommended action (e.g., smoking).
● It does not take into account behaviors that are performed for non-health related
reasons such as social acceptability.
● It does not account for environmental or economic factors that may prohibit or
promote the recommended action.
● It assumes that everyone has access to equal amounts of information on the
illness or disease.
● It assumes that cues to action are widely prevalent in encouraging people to act
and that "healthy" actions are the main goal in the decision-making process.
The HBM is more descriptive than explanatory, and does not suggest a strategy for
changing health-related actions. In preventive health behaviors, early studies showed
that perceived susceptibility, benefits, and barriers were consistently associated with
the desired health behavior; perceived severity was less often associated with the
desired health behavior. The individual constructs are useful, depending on the health
outcome of interest, but for the most effective use of the model it should be integrated
with other models that account for the environmental context and suggest strategies
for change.

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HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY - Need,HBM- limitations and applications

A unit specially organized by the American Psychological Association (APA) to focus on

Why do we need health psychology?

There are four main reasons for need of health psychology–

1. Change in Health Patterns

1. Change in Health Patterns

2. Advancement in Technology and Research

Advancements in technology and research help in the early diagnosis of chronic

3. Expanded Health Care Services

Health psychology’s primary focus on prevention—specifically, changing people’s

Health psychologists can contribute to the creation of a user-friendly healthcare system

4. Increased Medical Acceptance

To address health-related issues, health psychologists have created a range of short-

Ultimately, if a health-related discipline is to flourish, it must demonstrate a strong track

THE HEALTH BELIEF MODEL

1. Perceived susceptibility - This refers to a person's subjective perception of the

2. Perceived severity - This refers to a person's feelings on the seriousness of

4. Perceived barriers - This refers to a person's feelings on the obstacles to

5. Cue to action - This is the stimulus needed to trigger the decision-making

LIMITATIONS OF HEALTH BELIEF MODEL

● It does not account for a person's attitudes, beliefs, or other individual

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