Health Psychology

6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1006132ANW for working students in the 2nd semester at a (A) Bachelor - preliminary level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

In order to enrol in ‘Health Psychology’, students must have passed the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years of the Master’s degree programme in Medicine and they must be enrolled in or have passed all other 4th year course units of the Master’s degree programme in Social Medicine (including 11 ECTS worth of electives). There are no PRE’s or CO’s for for any other programmes offering this course unit.

Taught in

Dutch

Faculty

Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences

Department

Experimental and Applied Psychology

Educational team

Jolan Kegelaers (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

39 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
126 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

Health Psychology aims to prepare students for understanding and targeting the complex psychological and social factors that influence health; and to apply this knowledge in clinical or research settings, as well as for the promotion of public health. This course will focus specifically on the promotion of public health.

Aims:
1. Understanding the biopsychosocial model of health and disease: The course aims to provide students with insight into the complex way different biological, psychological, and social factors interact to influence health and disease.
2. Understanding the role of culture and diversity in health: addressing the ways in which culture, ethnicity, and other socio-cultural factors influence health outcomes and access to healthcare. Students can learn about cultural competence and how to provide culturally sensitive healthcare.
3. Developing an understanding of health behavior: This course covers topics such as health promotion, disease prevention, and adherence to medical treatments. Students will learn about theories of behavior change and how to apply them in clinical and public health settings.
4. Learning about psychological interventions for health issues: This course focuses on the impact of pain and stress, cognitions, personality, etc., on health and disease management. Techniques for stress management are introduced as ways to improve health outcomes.

Course material

Handbook (Recommended) : Gezondsheidspsychologie, Val Morrison & Paul Bennett – NL bewerking: Hans Te Baerts, Laurent Voets & Josephine, 4, Pearson Benelux, 978-90-430-3457-9

Additional info

The slides used during the lectures and additional study materials will be made available on Canvas.

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

The students are able to:
1. Gain an understanding of a global and integrated perspective/knowledge of health psychology;
2. Gain insight into the importance of cognitions, emotions, personality, and social factors in health and disease;
3. Gain insight into the physiology of stress and relaxation, and how mind-body interactions can be triggered, induced, and measured;
4. Understand how behavior, stress management, and behavior change can (partly) explain health, recovery, and illness;
5. Apply the biopsychosocial model to illness, sickness (role) behavior, and health behavior.
6. Understand behavior change and various theoretical models;
7. Apply the behavior change cycle;
8. Apply theoretical concepts and models to specific health issues;
9. Be critical of health information and health messages in the media.;
10. Explain action plans for promoting health at the population level.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 60% of the final mark.
PRAC Teamwork determines 40% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Written exam with a relative weight of 60 which comprises 60% of the final mark.

Note: Multiple choice

Within the PRAC Teamwork category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Group assignment with a relative weight of 40 which comprises 40% of the final mark.

Note: Final grade based on a peer assessment and an assessment by the course instructor

Additional info regarding evaluation

Clarification:
The multiple-choice exam will be scored using positive scoring with a higher cut-off point. Therefore, no points will be deducted for incorrect answers. However, the possibility of gaining points through guessing will be factored into the final score by raising the passing threshold (cut-off point).

The passing threshold for the exam and the exact conversion table will be communicated in a timely manner on Canvas and in the exam instructions. The exam strategy under this method is straightforward: do your best on the entire exam, guess to the best of your ability on questions you do not know or partially know, without worrying about potential point deductions.

To pass this course, students need to achieve at least half of the points on both evaluation components. The written exam determines 60% of the final grade, and the group assignment contributes 40% to the final grade.

Subscores for either the group assignment or the multiple-choice exam will be carried over to the resit period if the student scored at least half of the points for that specific component.

The student has the option to waive their subscore for the assignment/multiple-choice exam by notifying the course instructor via email by August 15th (for the resit period).

Once the student has reported their decision to waive the subscore, they irreversibly lose the subscore.
For the assignment, it is permitted to use generative AI solely as a brainstorming tool for formulating health-promoting behavior. Any use of generative AI must be appropriately acknowledged.

The assessment of the group assignment consists of: the completion of a joint reflective report. Group assignments and the specific requirements for the reflective report will be communicated through Canvas.

Clarification:
The final grade for the group assignment will be based on a peer assessment (40%) and an assessment by the course instructor (60%). A student who has not participated in the continuous assessment will receive an Absence for the entire course.
The scoring matrix for the peer assessment will be made available on Canvas at the beginning of the peer assessment process.
If you take this course during the resit period, you can use the digital materials. The assessment for the group assignment may be different during the resit period.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context