‘We just need to find space for them to practice so that we can help to make a stronger society’: Perceived barriers and facilitators to employing health psychologists in UK public health and clinical health settings

IF 3.5 2区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

British Journal of Health Psychology Pub Date : 2023-07-16 DOI:10.1111/bjhp.12680

J. K. Hart, P. Michael, R. Hawkins, E. R. Bull, A. Farrar, C. Baguley, R. R. Turner, L. M. T. Byrne-Davis

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Introduction

In recent years, health psychology has received significant attention within the health sector, due to its application to understanding influences on health and well-being and translation of health psychology into interventions to support behaviour change. The number of health psychologists in public health and healthcare settings is growing but remains limited, and is it unclear why. This study aimed to explore the views of potential and current employers of health psychologists, to elucidate barriers and facilitators of employing health psychologists in healthcare settings.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were carried out to explore the experiences of working with and/or employing health psychologists. Opportunities and barriers were explored for increasing access to health psychology expertise in the NHS and public health. Interviews were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results

Fifteen participants took part in interviews. Participants were mid-senior-level professionals working in varied healthcare settings and/or academic institutions. The majority had experience of health psychology/working with health psychologists, whilst others had limited experience but an interest in employing health psychologists. Three key themes were identified: (1) the organizational fit of health psychologists, (2) perception of competition for roles and (3) ideas for changing hearts, minds and processes.

Conclusion

Barriers exist to employing health psychologists in healthcare settings. These barriers include misunderstandings of the role of health psychologists and the need to preserve other disciplines due to perceived competition. Recommendations for change included showcasing the benefits and skills of health psychologists and having transparent conversations with employees and multi-disciplinary colleagues about roles.

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“我们只需要为他们找到实践的空间，这样我们就可以帮助建立一个更强大的社会”：在英国公共卫生和临床卫生环境中雇用健康心理学家的障碍和推动者。

引言：近年来，健康心理学在卫生部门受到了极大的关注，因为它应用于理解对健康和幸福的影响，并将健康心理学转化为支持行为改变的干预措施。公共卫生和医疗机构中的健康心理学家数量正在增长，但仍然有限，原因尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨健康心理学家潜在雇主和现任雇主的观点，以阐明在医疗保健环境中雇用健康心理学家的障碍和促进因素。方法：采用半结构化访谈法，探讨与健康心理学家合作和/或雇佣健康心理学家的经历。探讨了在英国国家医疗服务体系和公共卫生部门增加获得健康心理学专业知识的机会和障碍。访谈采用归纳主题分析法进行分析。结果：15名参与者参加了访谈。参与者是在各种医疗机构和/或学术机构工作的中高级专业人员。大多数人有健康心理学的经验/与健康心理学家合作，而其他人的经验有限，但对雇用健康心理学家感兴趣。确定了三个关键主题：（1）健康心理学家的组织适应性，（2）对角色竞争的感知，以及（3）改变内心、思想和过程的想法。结论：在医疗环境中雇用健康心理学家存在障碍。这些障碍包括对健康心理学家角色的误解，以及由于感知到的竞争而需要保留其他学科。变革建议包括展示健康心理学家的好处和技能，以及与员工和多学科同事就角色进行透明对话。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

British Journal of Health Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

14.10

自引率

1.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： The focus of the British Journal of Health Psychology is to publish original research on various aspects of psychology that are related to health, health-related behavior, and illness throughout a person's life. The journal specifically seeks articles that are based on health psychology theory or discuss theoretical matters within the field.