PS285 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: World Health Organization, The Who
Document Summary
Health psychology is an interdisciplinary field concerned with the application of psychological knowledge and techniques to health, illness and health care. Psychosocial" is often used to describe human behaviour and experience as an influence on well-being. Therefore, the definition of health is a state of well-being with satisfaction of physical, cultural, psychosocial, economic and spiritual needs, not simply the absence of illness. A key concept is that of need satisfaction (maslow"s hierarchy of needs) It is a broad ranging concept, affected in a complex way by the person"s physical health, psychological state, level in independence, social relationships, and their relationship to salient features of their environment. Popular view in western society is individualism" in which individuals are viewed as. Agents" who are personally responsible for their own health: behaviour is not the only necessary target for change; the toxic environment needs to be given equal priority interventions.
