The Sage Handbook of Health Psychology: Issues, Debates and Applications of Health Psychology

The Sage Handbook of Health Psychology, 2e Volume Two: Applications of Health Psychology covers the practical applications of health psychology, addressing intervention development, health improvement strategies, mental health and wellbeing, health protection, and the integration of health psychology into policy and professional practice. With contributions from leading experts, this is an indispensable resource for those looking to apply health psychology principles to real-world challenges. This Handbooks is a must-read for postgraduate students, researchers, and practitioners aiming to improve health and wellbeing outcomes through evidence-based practices.

Section One: Issues and Debates in Health Psychology

Section Two: Intervention Development Approaches

Section Three: Health Improvement Interventions and Preventive Behaviors

Section Four: Improving Mental Health and Wellbeing

Section Five: Health Protection Interventions and Long-term Conditions

Section Six: Health Psychology in Practice

Katherine Brown is Professor of Behaviour Change in Health at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, where she established the Public Health and Applied Behaviour Change Laboratory (PHAB Lab) currently comprised of 10 staff and 5 PhD students. She has more than twenty years’ experience of developing and evaluating behaviour change interventions in public health contexts. She spent eight years of her career working within the public health department of an English local authority alongside leading an academic research team. Her expertise spans a range of public health issues including sexual health, obesity, smoking cessation, breastfeeding, gender-based violence and applications of behaviour change science in public health. She has more than 90 peer-reviewed papers and has secured research funding in excess of £12 million from a number of quality research funders including the European Commission and the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). She is currently Chief Investigator of one of ten national Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Teams (PHIRSTs) funded by NIHR and co-Chief investigator of the NIHR Public Health Research (PHR) funded Halo trial.

Cecilia Cheng is a Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean at the University of Hong Kong. Her research focuses on enhancing mental and physical wellness through the lens of personality and social psychology, cyberpsychology and digital health. Her research team investigates an array of pressing societal issues, including information technology disorders and cyberbullying, analyzing how digital interactions shape psychological well-being and influence broader societal dynamics. Her findings have been translated into public education strategies aimed at fostering resilience and coping mechanisms, as well as promoting healthy internet use, ultimately improving mental health. Professor Cheng’s contributions to the field are further underscored by her significant editorial roles. She has previously served as Associate Editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and currently holds the positions of Senior Editor for Social Science and Medicine (Health Psychology Office) and Associate Editor for Health Psychology Review.

Dr. Martin Hagger is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at University of California, Merced. He is also Visiting Professor of Behavior Change at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. He has also been visiting Professor at the Universities of Rome, Bordeaux, and Genoble, and Hong Kong Baptist University. At UC Merced, he is Director of the Social and Health Psychology Applied Behavioural Research for Prevention and Promotion (SHARPP) Lab and former Faculty Chair of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts and Provost’s Faculty Fellow. His research focuses on the determinants of health behavior, the mechanisms and processes of behavior change, and behavior change interventions. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of Psychology of Sport and Exercise, Stress and Health, and Health Psychology Review, and Senior Editor (Health Psychology) of Social Science and Medicine, and is editorial board member of eleven other journals. He has received numerous awards including a Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher Award four years running (2020-2024), and the Distinguished Health Psychology Contribution Award from the International Association of Applied Psychology. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 38, Society of Health Psychology), the European Health Psychology Society, the Society of Behavioral Medicine, the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology

Kyra Hamilton, Ph. D., is Professor in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University, Australia, and director of the Health and Psychology Innovations research laboratory (HaPI; 2. She is also Docent, Behaviour Change at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland and affiliate member in the Health Sciences Research Institute at the University of California, Merced, USA. Her areas of expertise and innovation are health behaviour motivation, self-regulation, and change. She is particularly interested in understanding the multiple effects of motivational, volitional, and automatic processes on health behaviour and the translation of research findings into policy and practice. She works closely in partnerships with industry, government organisations, and community groups to design community engaged, contextually tailored, and culturally appropriate behavioural interventions. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of Psychology and Health and is editorial board member of multiple journals. She is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and European Health Psychology Society.

Stephen Sutton is Professor of Behavioural Science in the Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, and Director of Research and Head of the Behavioural Science Group in the General Practice & Primary Care Research Unit. He is also Visiting Professor of Psychology at the University of Bergen, Norway, and Visiting Professor of Social/Health Psychology at University College London. He studied social psychology at the London School of Economics and computer science at City University. He received his PhD from the University of London in 1981 for research on the effects of fear appeals. Before moving to Cambridge in 2001, he held posts at the Institute of Psychiatry and University College London. His research programme focuses on the development and evaluation of theory-based behaviour change interventions for smoking cessation, physical activity and medication adherence, using both face-to-face and ′distance′ approaches such as electronic monitoring and feedback and tailored text messaging.