Provides balanced and up-to-date coverage of health psychology from an Australian and international perspective.

Table of Contents

PART 1: Being and staying healthy1. What is health? 2. Health inequalities 3. Health-risk behaviour4. Health-enhancing behaviour5. Predicting health behaviour 6. Reducing risk of disease individual approaches 7. Population approaches to public health PART 2: Becoming ill8. The body in health and illness 9. Symptom perception, interpretation and response 10. The consultation and beyond 11. Stress, health and illness: theory 12. Stress and illness moderators 13. Managing stress PART 3: Being ill14. The impact of illness on quality of life 15. The impact of illness on patients and their families16. Pain 17. Improving health and quality of life PART 4: Futures 18. Futures ReferencesIndex

About the Author

Professor Phyllis Butow, a clinical psychologist, is Professor of Health Psychology at The University of Sydney, and a National Health and Medical Research Council Principle Research Fellow. She is the Director of the Medical Psychology Research Unit and has published widely in the areas of Psycho-Oncology. With a particular interest in doctor-patient communication, Professor Butow has facilitated many health professional communication skills workshops, and sits on a number of committees which have influenced the development of medical communication skills training in Australia. Dr Barbara Mullan is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and a Member of the Higher Education Academy. She has worked in the area of Health Psychology for more than 10 years and has wide experience of teaching in this area both to psychology students as well as to students in the allied health professions. Her research interests include social cognition models in health psychology, the role of gender in health, gender issues in nursing and allied health professions, sexuality and ill health, sex education and communication skills training. Dr Mullan currently lectures in the School of Psychology at The University of Sydney. Professor Kate White is Director of the Research Development and Support Unit (RDSU) in the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at The University of Sydney. Her research interests are in the areas of psychosocial research related to cancer and palliative care, rural health, sexuality, breast cancer, and quality of life of cancer patients and their families. Her clinical background is in the areas of oncology and palliative care nursing. Dr Val Morrison is a senior lecturer in health psychology and is a chartered health psychologist, based at the University of Wales, Bangor. She has taught health psychology since 1992, whilst maintaining an active research programme in psychosocial predictors of patient and carer outcomes of chronic disease. Paul Bennett is Professor of Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Wales, Swansea and head of Swansea NHS Trust Psychology Services. He has published several books on health and clinical psychology as well as over 100 academic papers and chapters.