Health promotion, wellness programs, quality of life and the marketing of psychology

This paper focusses on fifteen years of research into the definition of quality of life and the factors that influence it. The initial phase of the research involving the development of the Quality of Life Questionnaire and the identification of general and specific factors that impact on life quality is considered. As governments and companies seek to reduce health costs, attention has turned to the potential impact of health promotion programs, and wellness programs on health costs. Hence, a second aim of this paper is to discuss the application of the research to health promotion and the development of wellness programs. A strategy to enhance quality of life using the Quality of Life Questionnaire, and group interventions to enhance specific personality characteristics are described. Finally, the current research program is used as a case study to demonstrate some of the factors that contribute to the invisibility of psychology.