Analysis of 2 Interviews With Health Psychologists
Analysis of 2 Interviews With Health Psychologists
Analysis of 2 Interviews With Health Psychologists
PSYCHOLOGY AT A DISTANCE
2. Why did Health Psychology arise, what factors does it address and what areas of
knowledge does it involve?
Health psychology emerged in the 1970's because everyone suspected that
psychological factors were important, but there was a lack of some kind of integration,
some kind of integral configuration, of a global meaning to understand how these
psychological factors were involved with the biological factors and with the social
factors and how they clicked so that in some cases disease was generated and in other
cases health was promoted.how these psychological factors were involved with the
biological factors and with the social factors and how they clicked together so that in
some cases disease was generated and in other cases health was promoted.
Therefore, health psychologists saw the need, through the biopsychosocial model, to
explain how these variables interact and how they increase the probability of wellbeing
and
3. From your perspective, how has Health Psychology evolved, especially in Latin
America, and which countries stand out?
Making a retrospective analysis of what has happened with the different soft and hard
psychologies in terms of the use of the scientific method, we see that the field of Health
Psychology has had a remarkable, incredible development and this has been due to
several factors, among them research, the design of evaluation instruments and above
all a transtheoretical or interdisciplinary perspective, and this has accelerated a boom
and this boom is reflected in the number of journals, in the number of publications, in
the number of journals, in the number of publications, in the number of
publications.This has accelerated a boom and this boom is reflected in the number of
journals, in the number of publications, in the number of congresses, in the number of
academic programs, that is to say, this has become a remarkable development.
4. Being more specific, what people, works, research groups or institutions would you
consider to have stood out?
In Ibero-America, the work done by psychologists in Spain and Mexico has been quite
outstanding lately, but there are also countries that are having a very interesting
development, such as Colombia and Chile, to name a few.The development of these
countries, among others, is basically due to academic work and research work with a
clear social conscience. Here in Mexico we can mention the highest university in
Mexico, the UNAM, specifically the Facultad de Estudios Superiores de Iztacala, and
also the Universidad de Guadalajara and the Universidad Veracruzana, which are
leaders in this area at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in terms of projects
and publications. At the level of other countries, the contribution made by Spain is a
model to follow, in that sense several institutions stand out in the clinical and health
area such as the University of Granda, the Autonomous University of Madrid, the
University of Malaga, the University of Oviedo, and a little in the Central American part,
the University of Costa Rica, where I have had the opportunity to be a visiting
professor recently, and also the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima
Peru and the University of Santiago de Chile and in Colombia the Universidad
Nacional stands out in this area.In Central America, the University of Costa Rica
stands out, where I have had the opportunity to be a visiting professor recently, and
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also the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima Peru and the University
of Santiago de Chile and in Colombia the Universidad Nacional stands out in this area.
The most visible heads are Dr. Juan José Sánchez Sosa who is in the area of chronic-
terminal diseases, Dr. Benjamín Domínguez in the area of Psychology and Pain, to
mention two very prominent colleagues and also Dr. Graciela Rodríguez in the area of
behavioral medicine. Benjamin Dominguez in the area of Psychology and Pain, to
mention two very prominent colleagues and also Dr. Graciela Rodriguez in the area of
behavioral medicine. In Spain, Dr. Sierra of the University of Granada and Dr. Vicente
Caballo of the University of Granada are outstanding for their contributions.
5. Your line of work is framed within the biopsychosocial approach and the behavioral
approach. What role has the behavioral model played in the advances in health
psychology?
The behavioral model is the model that serves as the basis for this approach, but it is a
model that has been adapted and enriched with recent advances in neurosciences, in
psychoneuroimmunology, and this has enriched it and in turn has allowed this
approach to health psychology, this area of health psychology to have not only a
flexible model based on evidence, but also a flexible model based on evidence.This
has enriched it and in turn has allowed this approach to health psychology, this area of
health psychology to have not only a flexible model based on evidence, but also based
on scientific verification. In this sense, we can say that it is the behavioral model, but
with a broad spectrum, which has allowed health psychology to have an evident
objective scientific substrate, based on data that really makes what is done in health
psychology an eminently scientific activity.
The other part of the question, basically, is applied in two contexts, one is to encourage
those behaviors that are healthy and that will logically allow strengthening and
maintenance of behaviors to achieve greater well-being and better quality of life, this is
in terms of prevention and in the case of intervention, basically what the person thinks,
feels and does has an impact on their well-being and quality of life. Without fear of
being wrong, we would say that 45% of the factors that cause people to develop a
cardiovascular problem or a diabetes problem have to do with psychosocial factors, it
has to do with dietary factors, it has to do with exercise factors, sleep, coping with
stress, the way the person lives. So in that sense, based on the behavioral model, on a
scientific model, the modification in teaching at-risk communities to change specific
behavioral patterns contributes not only to keep the disease from progressing, but also
to keep it under control. In this sense, the modification of eating habits, the modification
of exercise habits and the adequate coping to solve problems that generate stressful
situations, in some way play a very relevant role, then there is the behavioral part in
the broad sense of the term, which has to do with cognitive and behavioral factors.
7. Two terms that are mentioned in the field of Health Psychology are immunogens
and behavioral pathogens, what do these concepts refer to?
Let's say it briefly and then I will expand on it. The human being has a repertoire of
behaviors, we are going to talk about some positive ones that Mata da Sol called
immunogens in the sense that they are positive because they promote health, they
promote wellbeing such as high self-esteem, high self-efficacy, a logical emotional
control, being more rational than emotional, all positive behaviors such as having a
balanced diet, resting and sleeping properly, getting along well with people, enjoying
leisure, would be immunogens that not only generate wellbeing but also generate a
sense of well-being.All positive behaviors such as having a balanced diet, resting and
sleeping properly, getting along well with people, enjoying leisure time, would be
immunogens that not only generate wellbeing but also enhance our health.
And on the other hand we have the behaviors refusals or the pathogens
behavioral that are all those behaviors, all those who
behaviors, I am talking about cognition, emotions and behaviors that are going to put
your well-being at risk and therefore are precursors to disease. Here we are talking
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specifically, for example, about the tendency to
8. You are the author of the book "Style and quality of life", how does Luis Oblitas
define these concepts?
La calidad de vida en términos metodológicos vamos a llamar que es la variable
dependiente, es decir es la consecuencia, es la dimensión cualitativa que la persona
cómo se siente a sí mismo como consecuencia de su funcionamiento biológico, es
decir si sus pulmones están funcionando adecuadamente, si sus arterias estáon the
psychological level if he is more rational than emotional, if he is more logical than
illogical, if he is more logical than illogical, if he is more rational than illogical, if he is
more rational than emotional, if he is more logical than illogical, if he is more rational
than illogical.At the emotional level if he has more experiences of joy, joyfulness than
sadness or depression. So the combination of the cognitive, the emotional and the
behavioral will give you as a consequence the perception that the person has of how
he/she is functioning both biologically and psychologically, socially and spiritually, and
the consequence of this self-perception will give you how the person feels, that feeling
is the subjective idea is the consequence of this important concept that is the quality of
life.The consequence of this self-perception will give you how the person feels, that
feeling is the subjective idea that brings as a consequence this very important concept
that is the quality of life.
So the quality of life is a function of perception, i.e. self-observation at the level of
biological, psychological, social and spiritual functioning, that would be the quality of
life.
9. A topic that also concerns health psychology is the hospital area. What is your
opinion on hospital health in Ibero-America?
This is a very interesting topic because it has turned out to be a watershed, it turns out
that psychology is a young science and therefore has a social perception, in that sense
the clinical psychologist, the hospital psychologist, was mostly limited to the functions
basically of evaluation and diagnosis and that was the end of his role. However, thanks
to research, thanks to the progress made by psychology in general and in particular
the contributions of health psychology, this perception has changed, i.e. now the
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psychologist working in a hospital center, in a polyclinic, is not only requested to
provide assessment services, but also to participate in prevention programs and also
to contribute and provide services to the clinical patient who is treated on an outpatient
basis or who is going to be hospitalized.In other words, now the psychologist working
in a hospital center, in a polyclinic, is not only asked for evaluation services, but also
participates in prevention programs
10. Well Dr. Oblitas, we have already discussed the generalities of health psychology,
its approaches and applications, its development in Ibero-America and hospital
health. Oblitas, we have already talked about the generalities of health psychology,
its approaches and applications, its development in Ibero-America and hospital
health, the following questions are related to your work and your perspective, your
point of view in relation to the advances that health psychology has had in the
Ibero-American context, basically in academia, in universities and in research,
advances that are shared in congresses and in international events.The following
questions are related to your work and perspective, your point of view in relation to
the advances that health psychology has had in the Iberoamerican context,
basically in the academia, in universities and in research, advances that are shared
in congresses and international events. You have been invited to several academic
events, you have advised multiple diploma courses and master's degrees in Health
Psychology, what is your opinion of them? the undergraduate programs of
Psychology offered in
Latin America and specific graduate programs related to Health Psychology?
The training of a psychologist is a function of several factors, basically the curriculum
oriented to aspects of society in terms of health. A curriculum that emphasizes not only
the basic and higher psychological aspects, but also as it does at the level of research,
at the level of program design and at the level of prevention of social awareness
11. In relation to the invitations you received to attend and participate in international
events, what advances in Health Psychology have been presented in the most
recent events you have attended?
Note that the current population has high incidence of risk behaviors. We have anxiety
disorders, attention disorders and post-traumatic stress disorders and I would also add
hostile behavior disorders, violent behavior. Therefore, these four behaviors increase
significantly, especially in large cities, but also in small cities. So the main interest and
the main contribution is to the extent that, based on evidence, psychologists make
contributions and those contributions reach the great majorities through regional, state
programs for what to do to be able to modify daily anxiety, what to do to handle stress,
what to do to handle violent situations. In this sense, the interest in teaching people not
only what to do but how to do when they already have a problem, is what I have seen
as one of the most important contributions of health psychology and it seems to me
that the future of health psychology in terms of its contribution to the development of
health psychology will be in the future.
12. Well, and finally, what message would you leave to psychology professionals to
motivate them to be trained in the field of health psychology, to deepen and
research in this area?
To the people who are going to do us the favor of listening to this interview, I would
give them the following message, "consume scientific literature on psychology and
health", and for this purpose the Internet is useful, the sites are useful, the literature in
magazines and books is also useful.
CONCLUSIONS
This activity was very interesting because I had the opportunity to listen to two very
prominent psychologists in the field of health for their research and experience in this field.
I was able to corroborate several concepts studied during the course. One of them is the
field of action of the Health Psychologist, his important work in disease prevention
campaigns, in health promotion, interventions with patients with chronic diseases to
increase their adherence to treatment and the accompaniment of terminal patients for the
psychological management of pain and grief.
A very important aspect discussed by both specialists is the careful choice of intervention
strategies and applied theories, which must be based on research, so that their
effectiveness is supported and studied.
Dr. Oblitas gives a very interesting description of the application of the behavioral model to
Health Psychology, of which he clarifies that it is a model modified and adapted to Health
Psychology through the contributions of the
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
Sanchez S., J.J., (April 2014). Prospective of Clinical and Health Psychology in Mexico.
Second cycle of conferences on processes in Health Psychology "Practice and
research in the field of health". Event held at the Facultad de Estudios Superiores
Iztacala, UNAM, Mexico.
Electronic Journal PsicologiaCientifica.com. (2007, December 4). Luis
Armando Oblitas Guadalupe – Interview. Magazine
PsicologiaCientifica.com, 9(38). Available in:
http://www.psicologiacientifica.com/luis-armando-oblitas-guadalupe- interview