Clinical and health psychology for medical contests

Frontal lectures (24 hours total). Introduction to Quality of Life: The concepts of Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO), the definition and importance of quality of life, its historical development, and the reasons for measuring it will be explored. The role of quality of life in pharmacological and psychotherapy clinical trials will be discussed and the main assessment tools will be introduced. Clinical Trials: Clinical trials will be defined, highlighting differences with other types of studies. Research designs, efficacy (effect-size), sample size, bias and methodological issues specific to clinical trials in psychotherapy will be addressed. Principles of Measurement Scales (e.g., SF-36): The importance of quality of life as a standard outcome measure in health will be discussed, especially for individuals with chronic, functional or psychological conditions. Key concepts, principles, applications, scoring methods and criteria for selecting appropriate quality of life measurement instruments will be reviewed. Questionnaire Development: Emphasis will be placed on the process of developing and standardising rating scales, with a focus on the concepts of validity and reliability, both theoretical and psychometric. The module includes the performance of individual and group practical activities. Laboratory (36 hours total). Cross-Sectional Data Analysis: You will learn how to compare two groups, control for covariates, perform one-way analysis of variance, and apply planned comparisons and post-hoc tests. Analysis of Longitudinal Data: Assumptions will be tested, analysis of variance applied for repeated mi-sure and mixed models, delving into the temporal dynamics of the phenomena studied. Regression and Factor Analysis: This module will be devoted to regression techniques and exploratory factor analysis (EFA), also introducing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Theoretical foundations and practical demonstrations will be provided. Path Analysis: Indirect (mediation) and conditional (moderation) effects analysis techniques will be explored, handling multiple independent and dependent variables, for in-depth analysis of causal relationships and predictive models.

To fully benefit from the course, students should have: Basic knowledge of mathematics and statistics; Familiarity with the general principles of clinical psychology as an evidence-based empirical science.

• Niero. Qualità della vita e della salute. Strategia di analisi e strumenti per la misurazione. Franco Angeli. • Fayers & Machin. Quality of Life. The assessment, analysis, and interpretation of patient-reported outcomes. 2° edition. Wiley. (Selected Chapters) • Richardson, P., & Machan, L. (2021). Jamovi for Psychologists. Bloomsbury Publishing. • Slide delle lezioni e articoli selezionati ad integrazione (disponibili su elearning).

The attendance is strongly recommended for front classes and workshops, according to the timing and modalities established by the Graduate Course Board.

The exam is in written form only. The exam will be conducted in-person using the www.exam.net platform and includes: 5 open-ended questions on slides and topics from the textbook. 3 practice questions for the lab portion (possibly replaceable with in-progress evaluations of group work done in the classroom). Exam duration: 45 minutes (lecture part) + 15 minutes (lab part). Each question is graded from 0 to 4 points based on the quality of the answer. The examination on the face-to-face lectures and laboratory is unique and takes place in the same hour/day.

Lectures with slide presentations. Guided discussions on the concepts and topics dealt with. Practical-guided exercises on the construction and analysis of psychological tests (Laboratorio). Individual study with the support of the text manual provided.