Deborah Fish Ragin is Professor Emerita of Psychology at Montclair State University, New Jersey. She served as Assistant Professor on the faculties of Hunter College, City University of New York, and as Associate Research Professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (now the Icahn School of Medicine) before joining Montclair State. She also served as an American Psychological Association Representative to the United Nations, focusing on the psychosocial impact of HIV/AIDS.
“There is no better health psychology book on the market with an ecological perspective.' Ellen Langer, Harvard University, USA. ‘Capturing the field of Health Psychology in a single textbook can be quite challenging – the field’s expansive research across multiple fields of study must be balanced with accessible content and student engagement. Dr. Debby Ragin meets this challenge in her newly revised ‘Health Psychology: An Interdisciplinary Approach’. This textbook is a perfect blend of theory, concepts and contributions from multiple fields (e.g., Epidemiology), and data-driven examples. Perhaps most importantly, theories and concepts are applied in the form of stories throughout, as well as beginning each chapter with an “Opening Story” and closing with a “Personal Postscript”. This approach is engaging and memorable, moving well beyond the “data dump” found in some textbooks, and helping students find the relevance of this material to their lives.’ Brooks B. Gump, PhD, MPH; Falk Endowed Professor of Public Health, Syracuse University, USA. ‘This new edition caters for the decolonisation of health for illness care and management. The focus on holistic healthcare and diversity, with interesting case studies, puts forward excellent practical integration to theoretical contexts- an ideal for students from various disciplines. The importance of spiritual, emotional, religious, environmental, and cultural contexts for health and wellbeing, emphasises how useful this book is, to understand healthcare behaviours in different global community contexts.’ Sabihah Moola, University of South Africa (UNISA), South Africa. Praise for the previous edition: 'Within the pages of Ragin’s Health Psychology: An Interdisciplinary Approach, the fascinating complexity of human health is depicted through a social ecological framework that seamlessly integrates the many individual, social, institutional, and structural factors influencing the health of individuals and populations, artfully rendered through accessible coverage of judiciously selected research and illuminating real-world examples, including both historical and current events from across the globe.' Susan E. Walch, The University of West Florida, USA.