Chapter 1 Flashcards
Compare life expectancy of today vs. a century ago
A century ago, life expectancy was ~50yoa. Most people died from infectious diseases (e.g. pneumonia, TB, diarrhea, enteritis). Resulted from contact c pathogen (sick person, contaminated food, impure water, etc). Few cures even for those who sought help. Short duration for diseases, people would die or get well in a few weeks. Limited responsibility on behalf of the ordinary person to prevent disease.
Now, life expectancy is ~80yoa. Why? Better sanitation, vaccines, and treatments. So infectious diseases are more treatable. However, now we face another kind of disease: chronic diseases (e.g. heart disease, cancer, stroke) are now account for far more deaths than infectious disease (2 million a year, although ~130 million in US live c chronic disease). Due to life style and behaviour, so people have more control and responsibility.
In recent years (1990-2005) what have been the trends in deeeaaath and disease?
Deaths related to chronic diseases have decreased (fewer people smoke now than in the past), but death rates related to injuries, suicide and homicide have increased. Also, increases in Alzheimer’s, influenza, pneumonia, kidney disease, septicemia and Parkinson’s disease have also increased. AD and PD increase due to the aging population.
Talk aboot aaaage
Causes of death vary among age groups. E.g. cancer and cardiovascular disease accounts for 60% of deaths in US, but this is not the leading cause of death for young people (1-44yoa). For this group, unintentional injuries suicide and homicide are more prevalent.
What is the single most important contributor to the increse in life expectancy?
Lowering of infant mortality. When infants die before their first birthday, these deaths lower the population’s average life expectancy much more than do the deaths of middle aged or older people.
Prevention of disease also contributes to the increase of life expectancy as well.
What is the biomedical model’s definition of health?
The absence of disease. This view conceptualizes disease exclusively as a biological process that is an almost mechanistic result of exposure to a specific pathogen.
The focus is on disease, which is traceable to a specific agent. Removing the pathogen restores health.
why is the biomedical model’s definition of health inadequate?
Now that the leading causes of death are chronic illnesses and not infectious diseases,
What model has replaced the biomedical model?
The biopsychosocial model. It is a holistic model that considers the social, psychological, physiological and even spiritual aspects of a person’s health. This model holds that many diseases result from a combination of factors such as genetics, physiology, social support, personal control, stress, compliance, personality, poverty, ethnic background, and cultural beliefs.
How does the biopsychosocial model define health?
Health is more than just the absence of disease. A person who has no disease condition is not sick, but this person may not be healthy either. In this view, health is multi-dimensional as all aspects of living are considered.
How does the WHO define health?
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.
The WHO views health as a positive state and not just the absence of pathogens. Feeling good is more than not feeling bad. A way of behaving that is likely to continue maintaining health in the future.
Why is psychology relevant to health care now?
Because behaviour is so important for chronic diseases (in both how they are formed and avoided), and psychology is the science of behaviour.
What is behavioural medicine?
The interdisciplinary field concerned with the development and integration of behavioural and biomedical science knowledge and techniques relevant to health and illness and the application of this knowledge and these techniques to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation”.
Behavioural medicine attempts to use psychology and the behavioural sciences in conjunction with medicine to achieve these goals.
What is health psychology?
The branch of psychology that concerns individual behaviours and lifestyles affecting a person’s physical health. Includes psychology’s contributions to the enhancement of health, the prevention and treatment of disease, the identification of health risk factors, the improvement of the health care system, and the shaping of public opinion with regard to health.
Applies psychological principles to physical health areas such as controlling cholesterol managing stress, alleviating pain, stopping smoking ,etc. As well as encouraging healthy behaviours.
Helps identify conditions that affect health, diagnose and treat certain chronic diseases.
Interacts with biology and sociology to produce health and disease related outcomes.
