Health Psychology: A Biopsychosocial Approach
Discussion Questions
A. What is meant by collaborative care and how can it enhance outcomes related to illness?
B. Discuss the relationship between environmental enrichment and stroke. If you were involved in rehabilitation of stroke patients, what approaches would you think might be especially beneficial? What are the limitations of these approaches?
C. Discuss how the experience of previous illness(es) can affect an individual positively or negatively should they encounter yet another severe condition?
D. What are the most effective ways that individuals might adopt in an effort to cope with chronic illnesses? Are there disadvantages to the approach you recommend?
E. Discuss the different forms of stigma related to illness (e.g. enacted stigma, self-stigma) and suggest ways to deal with different forms of stigma.
F. Iatrogenic illnesses refer to those that stem from medical errors, negligence, unnecessary medical treatments, using instruments that are contaminated and side effects owing to drug interactions. Even though considerable efforts have been made to diminish occurrence of medical errors, they continue at a very high rate. What might a health psychologist recommend to diminish their occurrence?
G. Is there a place for religion as a coping strategy among people suffering a chronic pain or illness condition? What are the up- and down-sides?
H. Just about every chronic illness is bad, but some are often seen as being worse than others. Cancers can be very horrid (as can the treatments) especially if they cause pain, and heart disease can be incapacitating. Likewise, neurodegenerative disorders (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, as well as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) each have their own way of diminishing us. What do you think makes one disease worse than another?