Health Psychology: An Interdisciplinary Approach offers a critical examination of the biopsychosocial model of health and proposes the use of the ecological model as a more comprehensive explanation of health outcomes; both of which are unique approaches in a health psychology text.
The ecological model explores the impact of five systems on individual health outcomes: the individual (including physiology), the family/community, physical and social environments, healthcare systems and health policy. Unlike the biopsychological model which represents a combination of three fieldsbiology, psychology and sociology - the ecological model includes research and findings from medical anthropology, economics, ethnopharmacology, environmental studies, medicine and public health, in addition to biology, psychology and sociology. Thus, it offers a truly interdisciplinary approach to the study of health.
Finally, the text uniquely examines infectious diseases and chronic illnesses from a local, regional and global perspective. The diverse perspectives illustrate the roles of each of the five systems on health.
