PSYC 6501: Problems in Psychology: Health Psychology

Spring 2004 (W 12:00-1:00, Rawl 302)

 

Instructors:   Caren Jordan, Ph.D.                                       Christyn Dolbier, Ph.D.

                           Office: Rawl 310                                            Office: Rawl 218

                           Phone: (252) 328-4342                                    Phone: (252) 328-2119

                           Email: JordanCa@mail.ecu.edu                       Email:   DolbierC@mail.ecu.edu

                           Office hours: TTH 9:30-11:00                         Office hours:  TTH 2-3:30

                                                TTH 1-2                                                        W 1:30-3:30

 

Description: The aims of the field of health psychology are to understand and apply psychological science to: (a) the promotion and maintenance of physical health; (b) the prevention and treatment of physical illness; (c) the identification of causal and diagnostic correlates of health and illness; and (d) the analysis and improvement of the health care system and health policy.  The purpose of this seminar is to provide you with an overview of some of the major topics, current issues, and cutting edge research in the field of health psychology.

 

Required readings: There are a number of required journal article readings for this seminar.  A copy of each reading will be made available in advance of its assigned due date in Rawl 104.  It is important for you to borrow, copy, and return the articles in a timely fashion so that they are available for others enrolled in the seminar.  When possible, the readings will be located on Blackboard in either PDF format or with a web-link to the online version.

 

Grading: Your final grade will be based on your attendance and active participation in the seminar discussions.  Every student will start with an A in the course and unless attendance and/or participation become an issue, will maintain that A.  The expectation is that you will attend and actively participate in at least 12 out of the 14 seminar discussions.  You should read the assigned readings before each class and come to class ready to discuss them. 

 

Discussion etiquette: The discussion facilitator will provide a brief overview of the topic and then prompt and guide the discussion.  Appropriate discussion contributions include providing concrete examples from the readings to support your point(s); integrating personal observations and knowledge in an accurate and insightful way; presenting new observations; and constructively responding to fellow students and professors.  The following guidelines are suggested for our seminar discussion forum: 1) listen to others respectfully; 2) strive to utilize language that is thoughtful, respectful, and collegial when communicating with your fellow students and professors; 3) when you disagree with someone, critique his/her ideas in a respectful and constructive manner; 4) direct your comments to your fellow students rather than to the professor; 5) try to understand other people’s behavior and perspectives rather than simply criticizing them; 6) avoid stereotypes and humor that are disparaging of others; and 7) intervene politely if you notice people are being disrespectful or unfair to others.

 

Blackboard: Announcements about and updates to the seminar will be posted on the Blackboard system.  To enter our course, go to the Blackboard gateway at http://ecu.blackboard.com/.  Click Login and then enter your username and your password.  Your username is your ECU email username (for example, KLW1127) and your password is the same as that you use with your ECU email.  After you login to Blackboard, you will be given a list of the Blackboard courses in which you are registered.  Select PSYC 6501 and you are in.  Use Course Information and Course Documents to locate copies of seminar materials we may post.  Use Announcements and Communication to check for important updates. Use Student Tools to check your grade.

 

Weather emergency: In the event of a weather emergency, information about ECU is available through the ECU emergency alert website (http://www.ecu.edu/alert) and the ECU emergency information hotline (252-328-0062).

 

Disability accommodations: ECU seeks to fully comply with the Americans with Disability Act. Students requesting accommodations based on a covered disability must go to the Department for Disability Support Services (DDSS), located in Brewster A 114, to verify the disability before any accommodations can occur. The telephone number is: 252-328-6799. Please be aware that in order to receive accommodations, you must initiate this process with DDSS, inform us in advance of when you will need the accommodations, and provide the necessary documentation from DDSS.

 

SCHEDULE*

 

Date

Topic

Reading

Facilitator

Week 1

Jan 14, Wed

Orientation to seminar; Introduction to the field of health psychology; The biopsychosocial model

Taylor (1990); Arnetz (1996)

Dr. Jordan & Dr. Dolbier

Week 2

Jan 21, Wed

Psychosocial factors in disease

Adler & Matthews (1994)

Dr. Dolbier & Dr. Jordan

Week 3

Jan 28, Wed

Psychoneuroimmunology

Cohen & Herbert (1996)

Dr. Dolbier

Week 4

Feb 4, Wed

Stress-illness relationship; Allostatic load

Cohen et al., (1995); McEwen (1998)

Dr. Dolbier

Week 5

Feb 11, Wed

Health disparities: Socioeconomic status and health

Adler et al. (1993); Syme (1998)

Dr. Dolbier

Week 6

Feb 18, Wed

Positive factors in health (social support, optimism)

Scheier et al. (1989); Uchino et al. (1999)

Dr. Jordan & Dr. Dolbier

Week 7

Feb 25, Wed

Stages of change theory and its application

Perz et al. (1996)

Dr. Jordan

Week 8

Mar 3, Wed

Motivational interviewing

Burke et al. (2003); Resnicow et al. (2002)

Dr. Harju

Week 9

Mar 10, Wed

Empirically supported treatments; Cognitive-behavioral perspective on motivation

TBA

Dr. Golden

Week 10

Mar 17, Wed

Spring Break – no seminar

None

None

Week 11

Mar 24, Wed

Complementary/alternative medicine

Eisenberg et al. (1998); Astin (1998)

Dr. Dolbier & Dr. Jordan

Date

Topic

Reading

Facilitator

Week 12

Mar 31, Wed

Clinical health psychology in primary care; Children with serious emotional problems within primary care settings

Pincus (2003); Dea (2000)

Dr. McCammon & Dr. Jordan

Week 13

Apr 7, Wed

Hospital and prescription privileges

Pace et al. (1995); Freimuth (1996)

Dr. Jordan

Week 14

Apr 14, Wed

Cost offset (cost-effectiveness, managed care, reimbursement)

Chiles (1999); Friedman et al. (1995). 

Dr. Jordan

Week 15

Apr 21, Wed

Future of clinical health psychology; Ethics in clinical health psychology

Belar (1997); Belar & Deardorff (1995). 

Dr. Jordan

 

* Schedule is subject to change based on the pace of the seminar – any changes will be announced on Blackboard and during class.

 

Assigned Articles

 

Week 1 – January 14

Ÿ         Taylor, S.E. (1990). Health psychology: The science and the field. American Psychologist, 45, 40-50.

Ÿ         Arnetz, B.B. (1996). Causes of change in the health of populations: A biopsychosocial viewpoint. Social Science in Medicine, 43, 605-608.

 

Week 2 – January 21

Ÿ         Adler, N., & Matthews, K. (1994). Health psychology: Why do some people get sick and some stay well? Annual Review of Psychology, 45, 229-259.

 

Week 3 – January 28

Ÿ         Cohen, S., & Herbert, T.B. (1996). Health psychology: Psychological factors and physical disease from the perspective of human psychoneuroimmunology. Annual Review of Psychology, 47, 113-142.

 

Week 4 – February 4

Ÿ         Cohen, S., Kessler, R.C., & Gordon, L.U. (1995). Strategies for measuring stress in studies of psychiatric and physical disorders. In S. Cohen, R.C. Kessler, and L.U. Gordan (Eds.), Measuring Stress: A Guide for Health and Social Scientists (pp. 3-26). Oxford University Press: New York, NY.

Ÿ         McEwen, B.S. (1998). Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. The New England Journal of Medicine, 338, 171-179

 

Week 5 – February 11

Ÿ         Adler, N.E., Boyce, T., Chesney, M.A., Folkman, S., & Syme, L. (1993). Socioeconomic inequalities in health: No easy solution. Journal of the American Medical Association, 269, 3140-3145.

Ÿ         Syme, S.L. (1998). Social and economic disparities in health: Thoughts about intervention. The Milbank Quarterly, 76, 493-505.

 

 

 

Week 6 – February 18

Ÿ         Scheier, M.F., Matthews, K.A., Owens, J.F., Magovern, G.J., Lefebvre, R.C., Abbott, R.A. & Carver, C.S. (1989). Dispositional optimism and recovery from coronary artery bypass surgery: The beneficial effects on physical and psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1024-1040.

Ÿ         Uchino, B.N., Uno, D., & Holt-Lunstad, J. (1999). Social support, physiological processes, and health. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 145-148

 

Week 7 – February 25

·         Perz, C., DiClemente, D., & Carbonari, J. (1996). Doing the right thing at the right time? The interaction of stages and processes of change in successful smoking cessation. Health Psychology, 15, 462-468.

 

Week 8 – March 3

Ÿ         Burke, B.L., Arkowitz, H., & Menchola, M. (2003). The efficacy of motivational interviewing: a meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 71, 843-61.

Ÿ         Resnicow, K., DiIorio, C., Soet, J.E., Ernst, D., Borrelli, B., & Hecht, J. (2002). Motivational interviewing in health promotion: it sounds like something is changing. Health Psychology, 21, 444-51.

 

Week 9 – March 10

Ÿ         To be announced

 

Week 10 – March 17

Ÿ         None

 

Week 11 – March 24

Ÿ         Eisenberg, D.M., Davis, R.B., Ettner, S.L., Appel, S., Wilkey, S., Van Rompay, M., & Kessler, R.C. (1998). Trend in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990-1997: Results of a follow-up national survey. Journal of the American Medical Association, 280, 1569-1575.

Ÿ         Astin, J.A. (1998). Why patients use alternative medicine. Journal of the American Medical Association, 279, 1548-1553.

 

Week 12 – March 31

·         Pincus, H.A. (2003). The future of behavioral health and primary care: drowning in the mainstream or left on the bank? Psychosomatics, 44, 1-11.

·         Dea, R.A. (2000). The integration of primary care and behavioral healthcare in northern California Kaiser-Permanente. Psychiatric Quarterly, 7, 17-29.

Week 13 – April 7

·         Pace, T.M., Chaney, J.M., Mullins, L.L., & Olson, R.A. (1995). Psychological consultation with primary care physicians: Obstacles and opportunities in the medical setting. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 26, 123-131.

·         Freimuth, M. (1996). Combining psychotherapy and psychopharmacology: With or without prescription privileges. Psychotherapy, 33, 474-478.

Week 14 – April 14

·         Chiles, J.A. (1999). The impact of psychological interventions on medical cost offset: A meta-analytic review.  Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 6, 204-220.

·         Friedman, R., Sobel, D., Myers, P., Caudill, M. & Benson, P. (1995).  Behavioral medicine, clinical health psychology, and cost offset.  Health Psychology, 14, 509-518.

Week 15 – April 21

·         Belar, C. (1997). Clinical health psychology: A specialty for the 21st century. Health Psychology, 16, 411-416.

·         Belar, C.D. & Deardorff, W.W. (1995). Ethical issues in the practice of clinical health psychology.  In C.D. Belar and W.W. Deardorff (Eds.), Clinical Health Psychology in Medical Settings (pp. 137-172). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.