{"id":{"repo_id":"auckland-ms","oai_identifier":"oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/34059"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/auckland-ms/oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/34059","repository":{"repo_id":"auckland-ms","name":"University of Auckland","base_url":"https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Impact of Psychological Interventions on Wound Healing","abstract":"Wound healing is a complex biological process consisting of a number of overlapping phases. Research to date has found that psychological factors such as chronic stress and negative affective states can slow the wound healing process. The implications of these findings indicate that psychological interventions may help promote healing. However, at present only a limited amount of research has looked at the positive impact of psychological interventions in the context of wound healing. The aim of this thesis was to address some of the gaps in this research and build on the existing findings in this area. The main aims of this thesis were: 1) to review exisitng research on psychological interventions and wound healing; 2) to conduct experimental studies to address gaps identified in the review. These were namely to investigate whether the timing of interventions impacted the wound healing process and to further investigate social support interventions using a different intervention type. First a systematic review was conducted looking at previous studies that investigated the effects of psychological interventions on wound healing. The results of this review highlighted areas in which future research should be undertaken and led to three experimental studies conducted using three different interventions. Timing was particularly important for clinical translation. The first study (Study 1) showed that a relaxation intervention improved skin barrier recovery after tape stripping regardless of whether it was performed before or after the injury. It also identified that pain and sleep are important in wound healing. The second study (Study 2) found that an expressive writing intervention increased the speed of re-epithelialisation of a 4mm punch biopsy when performed prior to wounding. If performed after wounding the effects on healing depended on the timing of the writing. The results suggest that changes in affect as a result of the expressive writing may influence the speed of healing. Immunohistochemical analyses of the healing tissue two weeks later supported the results showing that expressive writing lead to increased Langerhans cells in the dermis. The final study (Study 3) found that participants who completed a social closeness task and underwent a tape stripping procedure with another person had faster skin barrier recovery compared to people who went through the tape stripping procedure alone. Saliva analyses indicated that being with another person buffered autonomic activity over the tape stripping period. Taken together, these studies support previous research that psychological interventions can help promote healing. The experimental studies offer several novel findings, including the importance of the timing of psychological interventions for wound healing. In addition, the thesis provides the strongest evidence to date that social support can improve healing in human participants. These studies provide insight into the complexities of the wound healing process and how psychological interventions could be implemented in clinical settings. Future research is needed in clinical settings to see if the results generalise to more extensive surgical wounds or chronic ulcers.","abstract_html":"Wound healing is a complex biological process consisting of a number of overlapping phases. Research to date has found that psychological factors such as chronic stress and negative affective states can slow the wound healing process. The implications of these findings indicate that psychological interventions may help promote healing. However, at present only a limited amount of research has looked at the positive impact of psychological interventions in the context of wound healing. The aim of this thesis was to address some of the gaps in this research and build on the existing findings in this area. The main aims of this thesis were: 1) to review exisitng research on psychological interventions and wound healing; 2) to conduct experimental studies to address gaps identified in the review. These were namely to investigate whether the timing of interventions impacted the wound healing process and to further investigate social support interventions using a different intervention type. First a systematic review was conducted looking at previous studies that investigated the effects of psychological interventions on wound healing. The results of this review highlighted areas in which future research should be undertaken and led to three experimental studies conducted using three different interventions. Timing was particularly important for clinical translation. The first study (Study 1) showed that a relaxation intervention improved skin barrier recovery after tape stripping regardless of whether it was performed before or after the injury. It also identified that pain and sleep are important in wound healing. The second study (Study 2) found that an expressive writing intervention increased the speed of re-epithelialisation of a 4mm punch biopsy when performed prior to wounding. If performed after wounding the effects on healing depended on the timing of the writing. The results suggest that changes in affect as a result of the expressive writing may influence the speed of healing. Immunohistochemical analyses of the healing tissue two weeks later supported the results showing that expressive writing lead to increased Langerhans cells in the dermis. The final study (Study 3) found that participants who completed a social closeness task and underwent a tape stripping procedure with another person had faster skin barrier recovery compared to people who went through the tape stripping procedure alone. Saliva analyses indicated that being with another person buffered autonomic activity over the tape stripping period. Taken together, these studies support previous research that psychological interventions can help promote healing. The experimental studies offer several novel findings, including the importance of the timing of psychological interventions for wound healing. In addition, the thesis provides the strongest evidence to date that social support can improve healing in human participants. These studies provide insight into the complexities of the wound healing process and how psychological interventions could be implemented in clinical settings. Future research is needed in clinical settings to see if the results generalise to more extensive surgical wounds or chronic ulcers.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Robinson, Hayley"],"institution":"ResearchSpace@Auckland","degree_name":"PhD","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Health Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Broadbent, E","Jarrett, P"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017","date_published":"2017","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:06:48Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":["Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. 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The aim of this thesis was to address some of the gaps in this research and build on the existing findings in this area. The main aims of this thesis were: 1) to review exisitng research on psychological interventions and wound healing; 2) to conduct experimental studies to address gaps identified in the review. These were namely to investigate whether the timing of interventions impacted the wound healing process and to further investigate social support interventions using a different intervention type. First a systematic review was conducted looking at previous studies that investigated the effects of psychological interventions on wound healing. The results of this review highlighted areas in which future research should be undertaken and led to three experimental studies conducted using three different interventions. Timing was particularly important for clinical translation. The first study (Study 1) showed that a relaxation intervention improved skin barrier recovery after tape stripping regardless of whether it was performed before or after the injury. It also identified that pain and sleep are important in wound healing. The second study (Study 2) found that an expressive writing intervention increased the speed of re-epithelialisation of a 4mm punch biopsy when performed prior to wounding. If performed after wounding the effects on healing depended on the timing of the writing. The results suggest that changes in affect as a result of the expressive writing may influence the speed of healing. Immunohistochemical analyses of the healing tissue two weeks later supported the results showing that expressive writing lead to increased Langerhans cells in the dermis. The final study (Study 3) found that participants who completed a social closeness task and underwent a tape stripping procedure with another person had faster skin barrier recovery compared to people who went through the tape stripping procedure alone. Saliva analyses indicated that being with another person buffered autonomic activity over the tape stripping period. Taken together, these studies support previous research that psychological interventions can help promote healing. The experimental studies offer several novel findings, including the importance of the timing of psychological interventions for wound healing. In addition, the thesis provides the strongest evidence to date that social support can improve healing in human participants. These studies provide insight into the complexities of the wound healing process and how psychological interventions could be implemented in clinical settings. Future research is needed in clinical settings to see if the results generalise to more extensive surgical wounds or chronic ulcers."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Impact of Psychological Interventions on Wound Healing"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Broadbent, E","Jarrett, P"],"dc:creator":["Robinson, Hayley"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2017-07-06T22:24:45Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2017"],"dc:description.abstract":["Wound healing is a complex biological process consisting of a number of overlapping phases. Research to date has found that psychological factors such as chronic stress and negative affective states can slow the wound healing process. The implications of these findings indicate that psychological interventions may help promote healing. However, at present only a limited amount of research has looked at the positive impact of psychological interventions in the context of wound healing. The aim of this thesis was to address some of the gaps in this research and build on the existing findings in this area. The main aims of this thesis were: 1) to review exisitng research on psychological interventions and wound healing; 2) to conduct experimental studies to address gaps identified in the review. These were namely to investigate whether the timing of interventions impacted the wound healing process and to further investigate social support interventions using a different intervention type. First a systematic review was conducted looking at previous studies that investigated the effects of psychological interventions on wound healing. The results of this review highlighted areas in which future research should be undertaken and led to three experimental studies conducted using three different interventions. Timing was particularly important for clinical translation. The first study (Study 1) showed that a relaxation intervention improved skin barrier recovery after tape stripping regardless of whether it was performed before or after the injury. It also identified that pain and sleep are important in wound healing. The second study (Study 2) found that an expressive writing intervention increased the speed of re-epithelialisation of a 4mm punch biopsy when performed prior to wounding. If performed after wounding the effects on healing depended on the timing of the writing. The results suggest that changes in affect as a result of the expressive writing may influence the speed of healing. Immunohistochemical analyses of the healing tissue two weeks later supported the results showing that expressive writing lead to increased Langerhans cells in the dermis. The final study (Study 3) found that participants who completed a social closeness task and underwent a tape stripping procedure with another person had faster skin barrier recovery compared to people who went through the tape stripping procedure alone. Saliva analyses indicated that being with another person buffered autonomic activity over the tape stripping period. Taken together, these studies support previous research that psychological interventions can help promote healing. The experimental studies offer several novel findings, including the importance of the timing of psychological interventions for wound healing. In addition, the thesis provides the strongest evidence to date that social support can improve healing in human participants. These studies provide insight into the complexities of the wound healing process and how psychological interventions could be implemented in clinical settings. Future research is needed in clinical settings to see if the results generalise to more extensive surgical wounds or chronic ulcers."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/2292/34059"],"dc:publisher":["ResearchSpace@Auckland"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby":["UoA99264932714102091"],"dc:rights":["Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher."],"dc:rights.uri":["https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm"],"dc:title":["The Impact of Psychological Interventions on Wound Healing"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["PhD"],"thesis:institution_name":["The University of Auckland"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:06:48Z"}