Edexcel Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Health and Social Care

UNIT 30: HEALTH PSYCHOLOGYEssential guidance for tutorsDeliveryHaving an understanding of health psychology will be of benefit both to learners whowish to enter the health and social care workforce on completion of theirprogramme, and to those planning to progress to further or higher levels of study. Anunderstanding of the psychological aspects of health and illness will help learners todeal with situations they may experience in health and social care settings.The unit should be introduced by initially reviewing learners’ knowledge ofpsychological perspectives and their role in the health and social care sectors, asgained through the study of Unit 8: Psychological Perspectives for Health and SocialCare, and possibly Unit 29: Applied Psychological Perspectives for Health and SocialCare. The latter is not a prerequisite for this unit, as the focus here is specificallyhealth psychology.Different concepts of health and illness, and different health behaviours, could beintroduced through a combination of class and small group discussions, case studiesand tutor input. There are links here with a number of other units in the programme,including Unit 7: Sociological Perspectives for Health and Social Care, Unit 20:Health Education and Unit 23: Complementary Therapies for Health and Social Care.If appropriate, these can be referred to, with learners being encouraged now to takea more psychological viewpoint and extend their knowledge and understanding.Tutor input will be needed in order to introduce models of stress and stressmanagement strategies, with the possible use of guest speakers. Class discussionscould facilitate the sharing of experiences and ideas. The unit could be made morepractical by the use in class of relaxation techniques, as previously suggested for Unit23: Complementary Therapies for Health and Social Care.A range of specific health psychology issues could be introduced through the use ofcase studies, discussions and small group research, in which learners gatherinformation from a range of resources in relation to a specific issue of interest tothem, followed by class presentations.Finally, chronic and terminal illness could be delivered with the use of case studies,sensitively managed discussions based on learners’ experiences, and the use of guestspeakers. A visit to a hospice could also be arranged if possible. Again, links could bemade here with Unit 23: Complementary Therapies for Health and Social Care.Learners should be encouraged to relate their studies in psychology to observationsthey may have made whilst on work experience placements. Small group or wholeclass discussions could facilitate sharing and exploration of these observations, withdue respect for confidentiality.This unit needs to be delivered by an appropriately qualified tutor, with the use ofappropriate guest speakers, visits, links with local voluntary and community groups,and DVDs/videos to enhance delivery.BN018467 – Specification – Edexcel Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Health and Social Care– Issue 1 – February 2007 © Edexcel Limited 2007387