The intersection of psychology, health, and inequality: Teaching for social change

Anthea M. Lesch

Chapter 5 in Teaching Health Psychology, 2026, pp 76-88 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Inequality is an urgent public health issue that impacts population health. This chapter describes teaching at the intersections of psychology, health, and wellbeing. It uses South Africa, a context characterized by high rates of inequality, ongoing oppression, intergenerational trauma, and poverty that impacts people's health and wellbeing, as a case study. It briefly reflects on health psychology in South Africa and discusses how the author applies community health psychology, a social justice-oriented approach, to explore health and wellbeing. The author describes the pedagogy that guides their teaching, which focuses on exploring the meaning of community, promoting ecological thinking, adopting a prevention-orientation, and exploring how empowerment helps create health-enabling community contexts. Finally, the chapter describes how the author uses contemporary psychosocial issues to promote critical thinking and reflexivity, and to illustrate how educators can use a community health psychology approach to explore how to create health-enabling contexts that promote health and wellbeing.

Keywords: Health and Wellbeing; Community; Psychology; Poverty; Inequality; Critical Pedagogy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035359851
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