The Oxford Handbook of Health Psychology (Oxford Library of Psychology)

The flaws in today's healthcare systems and practices are well-documented: millions remain far from optimal health due to a variety of psychological and social factors; large numbers of patients do not fully cooperate with medical advice; errors in medical decision-making -- some stemming from flaws in interpersonal relations -- regularly lead to needless suffering and death. Further, the effects of emotions, personality, and motivation on healing are not well incorporated into traditional medical care. The Oxford Handbook of Health Psychology compiles the most relevant scholarship from psychology, medicine, and public health to offer a thorough and authoritative model of the biopsychosocial approach to health. A collection of international contributors addresses all relevant concepts in this model, including its applications to health promotion, health behavior change, and treatment. It is evidence of the importance of the new field of health psychology that it warrants this volume in the prestigious series of Oxford Handbooks. Presenting the state of research, the 35 chapters are divided into five sections; foundations, core concepts, core issues, health behaviors and change, and population and sociocultural issues. The focus on methodology and practice of the initial two sections will be particularly useful to beginning practitioners and graduate students. Editor Howard S. Friedman (psychology, U. of California, Riverside) has contributed a chapter on personality, disease, and self-healing and the concluding chapter describing future trends in addition to co-authoring the chapter on the field's intellectual roots with Nancy E. Adler (U. of California, San Francisco). As is typical for the series, the material is clearly and thoughtfully presented, with an abstract, list of keywords, and bibliography in each chapter, with the text presented in outline form, clearly dividing a substantial body of information into accessible parts ## Abstract The flaws in today’s healthcare systems and practices are well-documented: millions remain far from optimal health due to a variety of psychological and social factors; large numbers of patients do not fully cooperate with medical advice; errors in medical decision-making—some stemming from flaws in interpersonal relations—regularly lead to needless suffering and death. Further, the effects of emotions, personality, and motivation on healing are not well incorporated into traditional medical care. The Oxford Handbook of Health Psychology compiles the most relevant scholarship from psychology, medicine, and public health to offer a thorough and authoritative model of the biopsychosocial approach to health. Articles addresses all relevant concepts in this model, including its applications to health promotion, health behavior change, and treatment. The Oxford Handbook of Health Psychology brings together preeminent experts to provide a comprehensive view of key concepts, tools, and findings of this rapidly expanding core discipline. The contributors address foundational concepts of the biopsychosocial approach to health and then discuss application. This title brings together preeminent experts to provide a comprehensive view of key concepts, tools, and findings of this rapidly expanding core discipline. The contributors address foundational concepts of the biopsychosocial approach to health and then discuss application