Psychological interventions for the prevention and management of lifestyle-related chronic disease

The Australian Government's current health reform agenda provides a timely opportunity to highlight the contribution of health psychology interventions in the prevention and management of chronic diseases associated with lifestyle risk factors. The World Health Organisation (2009) has identified the main risk factors responsible for deaths internationally as high blood pressure (responsible for 13% of deaths), tobacco use (9%), high blood sugar (6%), physical inactivity (6%), overweight and obesity (5%), high cholesterol (5%), unsafe sex (4%) and alcohol use (4%). A number of these factors also increase the risk of major chronic diseases - cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancers. There is now a substantial evidence base for the effectiveness of health improvement interventions based on psychological theory, research and practice and hence they deserve a high level of recognition within systems for funding health. This article presents a summary of a systematic review of the evidence for the effectiveness of health psychology interventions in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases associated with lifestyle risk factors.