410.613.01 PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS IN HEALTH AND ILLNESS

Reviews studies on the roles of social and psychological factors, such as socioeconomic status, mobility, ethnicity, stress, social support, coping, and illness behavior, in selected health disorders and chronic diseases. Discusses factors in relation to disease etiology, recognition of and response to symptoms, seeking care, the doctor-patient relationship and communication patterns, compliance, the course of disease, and disease outcomes.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to (1) explain levels of analysis of psychsocial factors; (2) delineate prominent theories of behavior change; (3) compare measures of psychosocial factors; (4) describe and critique quantitative measures of social context; (5) analyze the relationship between behavioral factors and chronic and infectious diseases; (6) develop behavioral interventions for disease prevention and treatment; and (7) develop conceptual models of behavior change.