Health psychology in South Africa: An introduction

Health psychology's public debut may be historically identified as having occurred in 1978 internationally and in 1989 in South Africa. It has since developed its own important role in disease prevention and health enhancement due to several good reasons highlighted in this article. This includes an increased sophistication in health-care consumerism which has also found expression in a renewed awareness of accepting personal responsibility for one's health because of the acknowledgement that lifestyle and behaviour change play crucial roles in health and disease. These developments have unfolded within an ever rapidly changing arena of health care. Both health-risk behaviour and lifestyle diseases have been identified as critical areas which have to be addressed in southern Africa. Although health psychology has made significant strides it remains in its early development stages in southern Africa, and thorough conceptual and methodological foundations continue to be required for its effective development. There are many challenges facing the health-care needs of South Africans, and health psychology researchers are in an excellent position to make a meaningful contribution in the 'New South Africa' to the health-care priorities of the Government of National Unity's Reconstruction and Development Programme, and to dealing with or preventing potential psychological problems that might arise from the transitional phase the country is going through. In line with international developments, increased accountability of health psychologists and a research and clinical focus on emotions, stress induced immunomodulation and psychological intervention to modify the course of disease are likely to become major trends in southern Africa as we enter the 21st century.