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Health Psychology
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:10.00
Study Course Accepted:23.04.2024 17:10:20
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | VPUPK_247 | LQF level: | Level 7 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 2.00 | ECTS: | 3.00 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Psychology | Target Audience: | Communication Science | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Zane Gulbe | ||||||||
| Study Course Implementer | |||||||||
| Structural Unit: | Department of Health Psychology and Paedagogy | ||||||||
| The Head of Structural Unit: | |||||||||
| Contacts: | 5 J. Asara Street, vppk rsu[pnkts]lv, +37167061587 | ||||||||
| Study Course Planning | |||||||||
| Full-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 8 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 16 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 4 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 8 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 24 | ||||||||
| Study course description | |||||||||
| Preliminary Knowledge: | Not required. | ||||||||
| Objective: | Develop the postgraduate students’ understanding of health psychology, focusing on health behaviour of an individual and its change, stress management, perception and representation of the disease, communication in the healthcare environment, as well as to develop students’ skills and competence to link and relate the knowledge of health psychology to health communication practice in various target groups. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | The concept and definition of health psychology and approaches to it. Factors affecting the development of health psychology nowadays. Stress, its management and health. Personality factors and health. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Perception of the disease, representation and interpretation of symptoms. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Health behaviour. Models of health behaviour and opportunities to use them in health communication. Change of health behaviour. | Lectures | 3.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||||
| 4 | Factors affecting adaptation to a chronic disease, patient health behaviour and their adherence. Psychological interventions. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||||
| 5 | Health communication practice in different target groups within the framework of health psychology. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||||
| 6 | The contribution of research/interventions of health psychology to health communication. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | 3 (three) seminars are planned during the study course, when the students will be asked to reflect on the relevance of the issues to be covered during the study course to health communication and the opportunities to use it in professional work, as well as to interpret the problem situations described in the mass media in connection with research conducted in health psychology on communication in the healthcare environment. Independently and systematically reading the sources indicated, choose one of the models of health behaviour. On the basis of the sources of literature and research on the application of a particular health behaviour model, develop a project on individual-focused communication activities/sets of activities and present it in the group. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | The final assessment is composed of assessment for independent work (50%) and assessment of the examination (50%). The structure of the independent work: 1. Characteristics of the chosen model of health behaviour. 2. Description of the set of health communication, characterising how the particular model of health behaviour has been used and applying knowledge of other issues acquired during the course. The examination includes 10 examination questions with and without given versions of answers. | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | |||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | • Name and describe the goals, tasks and basic methodological principles of health psychology. • Describe the relationship between the factors of stress and a personality and health. • Name and describe the factors creating the perception of the disease, representation and interpretation of symptoms. • Name and describe the factors affecting health behaviour in chronic disease patients and major psychological intervention groups. • List the factors creating the models of health behaviour. • Describe the communication of individuals in the healthcare environment. | ||||||||
| Skills: | • Identify the effects of stress and personality factors when discussing the perception of the disease, representation, health behaviour in chronic disease patients, models of health behaviour and communication of individuals in the healthcare environment. • Compare various models of health behaviour and review conditions for changing health behaviour. • Interpret the problem situations described in mass media in relation to research conducted in health psychology on communication in the healthcare environment. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | Describe and apply the concepts of health psychology in communication with an individual in various target groups. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | K.Mārtinsone un V. Sudraba. (red.). (2016). Veselības psiholoģija. Rīga: Rīgas Stradiņa universitāte. | ||||||||
| 2 | Marks, D. F., Murray, M., Evans, B., & Estacio, E. V. (2021). Health Psychology. Theory-Research-Practice (6th ed.). Sage Publications. | ||||||||
| 3 | Ogden, J. (2012). Health Psychology: A Textbook (5th ed.). Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press. (akceptējams izdevums) | ||||||||
| 4 | Pipere, A. (2005). Veselības psiholoģija: Cilvēks. Vide. Perspektīvas: Mācību līdzeklis. Daugavpils: Daugavpils Universitāte. (akceptējams izdevums) | ||||||||
| 5 | Sarafino, E.P., & Smith, T.W. (2012). Health Psychology: Biopsychosocial Interactions (7th ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. (akceptējams izdevums) | ||||||||
| 6 | Stokenberga, I., Freimane, G., Sudraba, V. un Bite, I. (2015). Veselība un slimība psiholoģijā. No: K.Mārtinsone un A. Miltuze. Psiholoģija, 2.sēj. Personība, grupa, sabiedrība, kultūra, (171. – 230.lpp.). Rīga: Zvaigzne ABC. | ||||||||
| Additional Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Health 2020 : a European policy framework and strategy for the 21st century / World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. Copenhagen : WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2013. | ||||||||
| Other Information Sources | |||||||||
| 1 | Kelly McGonigall: How to make stress your friend. TED talks. | ||||||||
| 2 | Journal of Health Psychology | ||||||||
| 3 | British Journal of Health Psychology | ||||||||
| 4 | Psychology and Health | ||||||||
| 5 | Health Psychology Review | ||||||||
