Health psychology for more sustainable healthcare: a systems-oriented framework.

BACKGROUND

Healthcare systems face growing pressure from rising costs, workforce shortages, chronic disease burden, and increasing mental health needs. At the same time, many health outcomes depend on behavioural and psychosocial factors that remain insufficiently integrated into healthcare delivery. Although health psychology provides evidence-based approaches to prevention, behaviour change, and patient-centred care, its contribution often remains fragmented rather than structurally embedded within healthcare systems. This policy-oriented conceptual perspective aims to fill this gap and inform stakeholders about how the discipline can contribute to more sustainable healthcare systems through the integration of behavioural and psychosocial expertise.

METHOD: This perspective and framework was developed through iterative discussions among the authors, experts from health psychology academia and practice, informed by established health psychology theories and selected interdisciplinary literature, with an emphasis on systematic reviews, large-scale studies, and authoritative policy sources.

RESULTS

We identified three interrelated domains of contribution of health psychology: (1) research, education, and policy support; (2) health promotion and prevention in schools, workplaces, and communities; and (3) interprofessional clinical integration in hospitals and primary care.

CONCLUSIONS

Coordinated psychosocial integration across prevention and care pathways may strengthen health promotion and prevention, improve care coordination, and reduce avoidable healthcare costs and burden.