Psychology at Stormont

24th September 2013

Health Psychologists …Work with people who need to manage physical health and illness issues, including:

Changing diet Increasing exercise Increasing uptake of immunisation Quitting smoking Increasing incidence and length of breastfeeding Increasing uptake of screening Pain management Coping with chronic illness Managing stress Improving medication adherence

AN EXAMPLE: MEDICATION ADHERENCE

Cost of Non-adherence

• Up to 60% of people with long term illness do not take their medication as prescribed

• In UK, costs of hospital admissions due to medication non-adherence is up to £196 million per year

• Breast Cancer Campaign - up to £30m could be saved each year

Health Psychology Works

Psychological interventions: •increase adherence to blood pressure medication, whereas patient education alone is largely unsuccessful. •improve blood sugar control among adults with Type 2 Diabetes •are 3 times more effective than educational interventions in improving adherence among young people with chronic illness