本課程介紹健康心理學這個快速發展的領域。健康心理學可被定義為一個跨領域學門，著重於將心理學的知識與技術運用於健康、疾病，與健康照護，以瞭解與改善個人與社區的健康福祉。了解促進或妨害人群健康的心理社會因素與行為，將有助於擬定方案，藉由改變人群的行為與對健康的想法而促進健康、預防疾病，和提升健康照護的品質。本課程將以授課為主，以課堂討論為輔，並針對特定主題安排外賓演講。
The course introduces the rapid growing field of health psychology. The discipline of health psychology could be defined as an interdisciplinary field concerned with the application of psychological knowledge and techniques to health, illness and health care. Its primary purpose is to understand and improve the well-being of individuals and communities. A better understanding of psychosocial factors and behaviours associated with health outcomes would inform strategies or policies aimed to promote health, prevent illness, and enhance the quality of health care by facilitating changes in beliefs and behaviours about health. The course is mainly given in the form of lectures, accompanied by on-class discussions. There will be special lectures on specific topics given by external invited speakers.